The Walking Dead: Convoy
by Thundarr The Barbarian
Summary: What would happen if The A-Team, The Master, The Dukes Of Hazzard, The Fall Guy, and Charlie's Angels were to team up during a Zombie Apocalypse (set during the 1980's)? You're gonna have to read it to find out. Currently rated T for violence. May upgrade to M at a later date (we'll see how things go).
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

**The Walking Dead TV series is produced by Frank Darabont and AMC Studios, and is based on a series of comic books published by Image Comics and was created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. **

**The A-Team was created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo, and is the property of NBC Entertainment and Universal Television. It ran from 1983 to 1987.**

**The Master was created and produced by Michael Sloan, and is owned by Warner Brothers Television. It ran for only 13 episodes, from 1984 to 1985.**

**The Fall Guy was created and produced by Glen A. Larson, and is owned by 20****th**** Century Fox Television. It ran from 1981 to 1986 on ABC.**

**The Dukes Of Hazzard was created by Gy Waldron and Jerry Rushing, produced by Paul R. Picard Productions, and is owned by Warner Brothers Television. It ran from 1979 to 1985.**

**Charlie's Angels was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, and was produced by Aaron Spelling. It ran from 1976 to 1981. The copyrights are owned by Sony Pictures Television.**

**I own nothing but the stories in my head. Please don't sue me. I'm broke and couldn't pay even if ordered to by a judge.**

**Convoy**

**Starring**

**(From The A-Team)**

George Peppard as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith

Dirk Benedict as Lt. Templeton "Face Man" Peck

Dwight Schultz as Cpt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock

Mr. T as Sgt. B.A. Barracus

Melinda Culea as Amy Allen

**(From The Fall Guy)**

Lee Majors as Colt Seavers

Heather Thomas as Jody Banks

**(From The Master)**

Lee Van Cleef as "The Master" John Peter McAllister

Tim Van Patten as Max Keller

**(From The Dukes Of Hazzard)**

John Schneider as Bo Duke

Tom Wopat as Luke Duke

Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke

Sonny Shroyer as Deputy Enos Strate

**(From Charlie's Angels)**

Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan

Farrah Fawcett as Jill Munroe

Jacklyn Smith as Kelly Garrett

**Chapter One**

It's late at night. The country sky is clear, revealing thousands of twinkling stars up above. The moon is full and shining down like a ball of silver. Barreling down the unpaved country road is a dark gray and black GMC van, with a red stripe down the sides separating the two colours. The rims of the wheels are coloured red to match. Sitting in the driver's seat of this van is a large, muscular black man with a full beard and mustache. His head has been shaved into a Mohawk, and he's dressed in camouflage pants and matching vest, with a weight belt around his waist. His wrists and fingers are heavily adorned with gold rings and bracelets, and he's wearing many gold chains around his neck. His name is Bosco Allen Barracus, or B.A. for short. B.A. scowls as he looks out at the dirt road which stretches out ahead of him.

Sitting next to B.A. In the passenger seat, wearing a dress shirt with the collar casually unbuttoned, jeans, stingray skin boots, and a black leather jacket, is Templeton Peck. Known as _Face Man _to his friends, he's a very handsome dark haired Caucasian with a gleaming smile and a gift for talking just about anyone into doing almost anything. Right behind Face is an older man with silver hair, wearing a light blue dress shirt, boots, jeans, and a tan coloured jacket. He clutches an unlit cigar between his teeth as he sits in the back of the van. His name is Colonel John Smith, though he's known better by his nickname, _Hannibal. _Sitting next to Hannibal, wearing jeans, runners, a Batman t-shirt, a brown leather flight jacket with a tiger printed on the back, and a blue baseball cap is the group's pilot, Captain "Howling Mad" H.M. Murdock. Collectively, these four men are known as The A-Team.

Once a crack commando unit in Vietnam, their last mission before the U.S. officially pulled out of that conflict was to rob the Bank of Hanoi. Unfortunately, when they returned to base, they found that it had been hit by a mortar attack. Their commanding officer was killed, and all of his files containing details of various covert operations were destroyed. With no proof that their heist was sanctioned by the military, they were immediately arrested and sent to a maximum security stockade. They promptly escaped from under the watchful eyes of Colonel Lynch, and disappeared into the Los Angeles underground where they survived as soldiers of fortune.

Sometime later they were joined by the fifth occupant of the van, an attractive dark haired young woman named Amy Allen, a newspaper reporter. She started out hiring them to rescue a friend of hers from Mexican guerrillas. Afterwards she began helping them out on their cases, using her contacts at the newspaper to gain information, as well as writing her own article on the exploits of this unorthodox team of mercenaries.

Their last job was a security detail. They had to accompany an eccentric and paranoid billionaire from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Louisiana. On the way there, they heard scattered reports of people becoming infected by some mutant strain of the rabies virus, and that people infected were going crazy and trying to eat other people. By the time they had dropped off their client and were on their way home, they discover that the virus doesn't drive people mad. It kills them and reanimates their bodies, causing them to attack and devour any living thing they see. And that these walking dead could only be stopped by shooting them through the head, or otherwise destroying the brain. The radio broadcasts said to head to Atlanta Georgia, that there was a safe quarantine zone there. But by the time the A-Team had arrived, Atlanta was a total war zone. So they left, and have been driving the back roads ever since. Hannibal had guessed, quite correctly, that many of the major highways would be gridlocked with panicking civilians. While the back country roads were the longer route, they had less traffic and would therefore not be as likely to be blocked up.

It has been several weeks since they had left Atlanta. Sticking to the more rural areas has allowed them to travel from farm to farm, scavenging for supplies and refueling whenever they can. Tonight, as they drive along, B.A. brings the van to a skidding halt.

"What is it B.A.?" asks Hannibal.

"Listen," says the larger man, and he holds a hand up indicating to the others to be quiet.

After a moment of silence they hear it. Gunshots. First only a couple. Then a few more. Now there's a steady pattern of guns being fired. The team can make out three or four different makes of guns.

"Sounds like a firefight," says Face.

"Or someone's refuge is being overrun by walkers," suggests Murdock.

"Let's go take a look and find out," says Hannibal.

"But what if it's two groups of survivors shooting each other over a can of beans?" asks Amy, "How will you know which side to back?"

"We won't," says Hannibal, "That's what makes it fun."

"Fun?" says Face. Then he turns and looks back at Hannibal, only to find a very familiar smile and gleam in the colonel's eye. "Oh no," he groans as he turns back to the front.

"Don't tell me," says B.A.

"Hannibal's on The Jazz," confirms Face.

"Captain," Hannibal says to Murdock, "Break out the guns."

Murdock opens the hidden compartment in the back of the van and pulls out four Ruger Mini-14GB's, as well as four extra clips, and hands them out to the other members of the team. He then pulls out a 9mm Beretta, slips a fresh clip into it and chambers a round, then hands it to Amy.

"You think you can handle this kiddo?" he asks her.

"I think so," she replies, "I've been getting a lot of practice lately."

"Okay," says Hannibal, "Sergeant! Take us to those gunshots!"

B.A. steps on the accelerator, turns the wheel, doing a 180 degree turn and speeds back down the road in the direction they had just come from. There was a turn off about a mile or so back. He's not 100% sure, but he thinks it will take them to where the gunshots were coming from.

"Remember guys," says Hannibal, "If these are walkers, aim for their heads not their feet."

A few miles away, at the side of a lake, a small collection of cars and trucks are parked in a semicircle around a campfire and a bunch of tents and sleeping bags. In the middle of these vehicles is a large, deluxe, luxury RV. Unlike many similar vehicles with incredibly thin doors and easily broken locks, this one has a very heavy door which locks with a deadbolt. Mounted on the back of the RV are two dirt bikes, one green and one yellow. Parked just behind the RV, at approximately a 45 degree angle, is a 1969 Dodge Charger. It's painted bright orange with the number "01" painted on the doors. Painted on the roof is the Confederate flag, with the words General Lee stenciled along the edges length wise. Just behind The General Lee, parked at approximately a 45 degree angle to the orange Dodge Charger, is a police squad car with the words "Hazzard County Sheriff's Department" stenciled on the doors, as well as a golden seven pointed star.

Parked at the front of the RV, also at about a 45 degree angle, is a customized GMC van. Very similar to B.A.'s van, not only in make but also in colour. Except where B.A.'s van is dark gray, this van is light silver. And the racing stripe which separates the silver top half from the black bottom half is orange and red, rather than just red. Mounted on the back of the van is a red dirt bike. And parked in front of the van, again at a 45 degree angle to the vehicle next to it, is a brown GMC pickup truck with a tan stripe down the sides. Painted on the hood of the truck is the picture of an American Bald Eagle with its wings spread wide. Stenciled below it are the words "Fall Guy Stuntman Association".

Surrounding the campsite is a herd of walkers, approaching the campers from all directions, save that of the lake at their backs. Kneeling on top of the RV are two young men, both armed with bows and arrows. The young archers fire arrow after arrow at the oncoming walkers, each one impaling a walker through the skull. The dark haired young man is older of the two, wearing cowboy boots, jeans, a white t-shirt, and a denim jacket. His name is Luke Duke, a Vietnam vet and ex-marine. Next to him is his younger cousin, Bo, a handsome young man with wavy blonde hair. He's wearing cowboy boots, jeans, a red t-shirt, and a yellow button down. While he may have never served in the marines, he is an ace shot with a bow and arrow.

Down below, using the General Lee as cover is their cousin, Daisy Duke. She's an absolutely gorgeous young woman with long, light brown hair. She's wearing skin tight jean cutoffs, the edges of which have frayed to the point where they cover very little at all. Her peasant blouse is tied off just above her navel, giving her an exposed midriff, and she's wearing high heeled boots. She's armed with a police issue 12 gage pump action shotgun. Every shot she fires causes a walker's head to explode. Next to her is her good friend, Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate. Enos is wearing his Hazzard County deputy's uniform, and is armed with his police issue .357 Magnum revolver. Having grown up hunting and fishing in Hazzard County, and being a police deputy to boot, Enos is an excellent shot, and puts a bullet in the skull of every walker he shoots at.

Using Enos's squad car for cover are three very attractive young women, all armed with .38 Magnum revolvers. The two brunettes are Kelly Garret and Sabrina Duncan, and the blonde is Jill Monroe. They were all once members of the Los Angeles Police Department. Unfortunately they were all dissatisfied with their jobs. Luckily a reclusive billionaire named Charlie Townsend had offered them a chance to come work for his private investigations agency, The Townsend Agency. Now called _Angels, _the three of them put their police training to good use. Each being an expert marksman, they drop a walker with every shot fired.

On the other side of the camp, using the van as cover is a man with white hair and a receding hair line. Wearing the doji of a ninja, and a silver medallion of a butterfly around his neck, he is armed with a bow and arrows. He also has a ninjato sword tucked into his belt. He is John Peter McAllister, once a major in the United States Army Air Corps. After the end of the Korean War, he found himself in Tokyo with a ticket home and no one to go home to. He decided to stay, where he trained as a ninja, and eventually was granted the title of Master. After thirty years, he received a letter from a daughter he never knew he had, Terry, asking for his help. Despite objections from his fellow ninja, he left for the US to find his daughter. Now he's fighting to survive against a herd of walkers. At the front of the van is McAllister's student, Max Keller. Max is a young man with long wavy brown hair, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, denim jacket, and runners. Tucked into his belt are dozens of The Master's throwing knives, which he throws at the walkers with great accuracy. Max was a drifter with a knack for getting into trouble. He met up with McAllister shortly after The Master arrived in the United States. They both ended up crossing a corrupt town sheriff, who was trying to run a family off of their property for a ruthless land developer. Neither of them liked that very much, and agreed to help out the young woman and her father. Afterwards they struck a deal. Max would help McAllister find his long lost daughter, and in exchange McAllister would teach Max to be a ninja.

The last vehicle is being used for cover by a man and a woman. The woman is young, blonde, athletic, and stunningly beautiful. She's wearing cowboy boots, jeans that are so tight they look as though they were painted on her body, a pink tank top cropped off just over the navel, and a short leather biker jacket with the Fall Guy Stuntman Association logo printed on the back. She's standing in the bed of the pickup truck, armed with an AK-47, and is gunning down walkers as quick as she can. Standing next to her is her good friend, Colt Seavers. He's armed with a pump action 12 gage shotgun, and is also gunning down walkers as quick as he can. He's wearing cowboy boots, jeans, a plaid button down shirt, and a black leather motorcycle jacket, also with the Fall Guy Stuntman Association logo printed on the back. The two of them are stunt performers, who before the apocalypse worked for 20th Century Fox Studios, doing film and television. As stunt people don't earn a lot of money making movies, they would moonlight as bounty hunters. Now they're a long way from Los Angeles, and are fighting just to stay alive.

Max Keller pulls his last two throwing knives from his belt. "I'm almost out!" he calls to McAllister.

"My arrows are nearly gone too!" replies The Master.

"So now what?" he asks.

"Take the two kama from my case!" McAllister tells him, "We're going to have to get in close! Don't leave the circle, let them come to you! They'll have to come at us from in between the vehicles. If we stay within the confines of the camp, they can't overwhelm us!"

"Easy for you to say," says Max as he throws the last two knives, then retrieves the sickle-like weapons, the kama, from The Master's suitcase.

Over by the General Lee, Daisy Duke has fired the shotgun's last shell. She quickly fishes some fresh shells out of the breast pocket of her blouse and starts feeding them into the shotgun. As she does this, a walker comes around the front of The General Lee and lunges for her.

"Daisy!" cries Enos, and he fires the last shot which is currently in his revolver and kills the thing before it can get to her.

Daisy turns to thank Enos, only to find that his protective instincts distracted him from the more immediate danger. Enos is struggling with another walker that has come around the other end of The General Lee. And with an empty revolver in his hand, he is in serious trouble. The walker grabs Enos and tries to pull him in close to bite him. Enos tries to push the walker off of him, but they're much stronger than they look.

"Enos!" cries Daisy, and she runs over to help her friend. As she approaches, she slams the butt of the shotgun into the walker's head. The walking corpse staggers back from the force of the blow, and Enos hooks it's ankle with his foot and shoves it away from him, tripping it and causing it to fall prone. Daisy then lifts her foot up, and brings the heel of her boot right down into the walker's forehead.

"Thanks, Miss Daisy," says Enos as he empties the spent shells from his revolver and grabs a quick load from his belt.

"Any time," replies Daisy as she reloads the shotgun, "But next time you should pay more attention to the walkers comin' at you and leave those comin' at me to me."

"I just can't stand the thought of ya gettin' bit," he replies as he guns down two more walkers.

"Feelin's mutual," she says as she takes aim at another walker and blows it's head off.

On the other side of the camp, Jody Banks and Colt Seavers are gunning down walkers as quickly as they can. Colt blows the head off of a walker, ejects the spent shell, then takes aim at another. But when he pulls the trigger, there's an audible 'click' instead of the ear splitting 'bang'.

"I'm empty!" he calls over to Jody.

Jody takes aim at another walker with her AK-47 and pulls the trigger, but much like Colt a moment earlier, all she hears is a 'click'.

"Me too!" she shouts back.

Colt pulls a revolver from his belt and cocks the hammer with his thumb. It's a chrome plated, pearl handled, single action Colt .45. It was a gift from Colt's childhood hero and good friend, Roy Rogers. Roy had given the revolver to Colt as a gift after they had worked on their second television special together a few years back. Unlike most of Roy's guns, which were merely props and little more than very realistic looking cap guns, this was a genuine Colt .45 Peace Maker, capable of shooting real bullets. Being a single action revolver, Colt has to pull the hammer back for every shot, making it a little less efficient than the modern double action revolvers. But it was a sentimental favorite of Seavers'.

"Hurry and reload!" he tells Jody, "I'll cover you!"

Colt takes aim with his revolver and starts shooting walkers through the head. Meanwhile, Jody removes the spent magazine from her assault rifle and fishes a couple of fresh clips from her jacket pocket. The magazines have been taped together with electrical tape, each facing the opposite direction. It was a trick Jody had learned from working in action films and TV shows. It keeps you from having to fish for a fresh clip every time your gun is empty. She snaps a fresh clip into place, chambers a round, then takes aim.

"Quick! Reload!" she shouts, "I'll cover you!"

Colt fires off the last few rounds in his revolver, then places it back in his belt and starts feeding fresh shells into his shotgun. Once the shotgun is fully loaded, Colt chambers a round and starts shooting at the walkers again.

In the middle of the camp, walkers are shuffling around Max's van and heading towards Max and The Master. As predicted, they have to bunch up to get between the vehicles, making them easy pickings for McAllister and his student. A faint squeaking noise catches the attention of one of the walkers and it looks through the van window. There on the dashboard, running in his little exercise wheel, is Max's pet hamster Henry. The walker starts banging on the window trying to get to the living creature inside.

"Oh no!" exclaims Max, "Henry!"

Unfortunately the walkers were packed in between the vehicles too tightly for Max to go to his pet's aid. McAllister can only hope that they can clear this herd of walkers before it can break through the glass to get to the poor hamster. Suddenly, the walker that is trying to break through the van window takes an arrow through the skull. Max glances up and sees Luke Duke on top of the RV with his longbow in hand. He fires Max a quick salute then goes back to targeting walkers. Max smiles and continues to cut down the walkers that get between the van and the pickup.

Bo and Luke Duke continue to fire arrow after arrow from on top of the RV. Bo looks down at their dwindling supply of arrows.

"We're gonna run out of arrows soon, Cuz," he says to Luke.

"Ya got yer knife on ya?" Luke asks him.

"Course," replies Bo, "Why?"

"Cause we might have to take the rest out hand to hand."

"Ya want us to jump down into that herd o' walkers?"

"Heck no!" says Luke, "Ya wanna end up like Coy and Vance? I'm sayin' we should jump down on the side next to Max and McAllister. Back them up"

"Right," says Bo, "I like that plan better."

Over by Enos's squad car, The Angels are gunning down every walker they see with their side arms. Sabrina Duncan fires the last round in her revolver into the head of a walker, and then pops open the chamber and shakes out the empty shell casings. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a quick-load, releases the bullets into the chambers, then closes the weapon.

"That's my last quick-load," says Sabrina as she starts shooting again, "After this I'm going to have to reload each chamber individually."

"Join the club," says Kelly Garrett, "I used my last quick-load last time I reloaded."

"If we don't run out of walkers soon, we're gonna get over run," says Jill Munroe, "Unless a miracle happens within the next few minutes."

As if on cue, they see the headlights of a vehicle come barreling down the dirt road towards their campsite. They can hear the roar of a supped up engine as the headlights get closer and closer. The lights and engine diverts the walkers attention, and many of them turn to see the fast approaching vehicle. The rag tag band of survivors take advantage of this distraction to put down as many of the walking dead as they can before the damn things remember that there are campers close by to eat.

B.A. sees the herd of walkers surrounding the circle of vehicles and guns the engine of his van. Using the vehicle as a weapon, he steps on the accelerator and runs down all the walkers in his path. Gore splatters against his windshield and front grill as the walking dead, with no sense of self preservation, allow themselves to be run over. When the van nears the end of the line, B.A. slams on the breaks and turns the wheel, doing a 180 degree skid and knocking down several walkers with the side of his van. He then steps on the accelerator and starts mowing down walkers while heading in the opposite direction. He then slams on the breaks and brings the van to a skidding halt. Then B.A. pops up out of the sunroof with his Ruger Mini-14GB and begins gunning down walkers.

Almost as soon as B.A. starts firing, the side door to the van slides open and out steps the rest of the A-Team. Hannibal, Face Man, and Murdock are all also armed with Ruger Mini-14GB's, and are gunning down the walkers as they come at them. Amy Allen stays in the van, but uses the semi-automatic handgun she was handed to keep any walkers from flanking the guys. In a matter of minutes, with the walkers caught in the crossfire between the campers and the A-Team, the herd is soon wiped out. B.A. and Amy exit the van and join the others. Then all five of them walk cautiously over to the circle of parked vehicles.

Bo and Luke climb down off of the top of the RV to stand with their group. While these newcomers did help keep them from being overrun by walkers, many once decent people have turned quite savage since the epidemic had gotten out of control. Now they are extremely cautious of strangers. They allow this heavily armed group of men, and one woman, enter their camp uncontested. Their apparent leader, a white haired man with an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth, steps forward.

"Who's in charge here?" he asks.

"I suppose that would be me," replies John Peter McAllister, as he steps forward.

They all wait with baited breath to see what happens next. Obviously neither group fully trusts the other. Both wait for the other to make the first move, whatever that move may be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hannibal and McAllister stand there staring at each other for several moments. Then Hannibal cocks his head to the side. "Johnny?" he says.

"Hannibal?" replies the master ninja.

Then the two of them burst out in smiles and embrace each other like long lost brothers. The other members of The A-Team look at each other in confusion, as do McAllister's companions.

"You old son of a gun!" says The Master.

"How the hell are you?" says Hannibal as he releases McAllister from his embrace and claps him on the shoulder, "I haven't seen you since Korea!"

"Not since we had that double date in Seoul," agrees The Master.

"Right!" exclaims Hannibal, "With those two nurses from that M*A*S*H unit, the 4077!"

"What was the name of that gorgeous blonde you were with that night? She was a major wasn't she?"

"Hoolihan!" replies Hannibal, "Margaret Hoolihan! Who did you wind up with again?"

"I don't remember," says McAllister, "I only remember waking up in my hotel room the next morning with a killer hangover. I don't think I've touched a Singapore Sling again since that night!"

"Uh, McAllister?" says Enos, "Ya mind introducing us all to your friend there?"

"Oh, sorry," says the old ninja, "How rude of me. Hannibal, this here is Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate. That lovely young lady with him is Daisy Duke. These two young men are her cousins, Bo and Luke Duke."

"That's Corporal Luke Duke, Sir," says Luke as he extends his hand to the colonel, "United States Marine Corps."

"Corporal," says Hannibal as he shakes his hand, "You in 'Nam?"

"Yes Sir," replies Luke, "At least during the last few years of the war. I was given an honorable discharge when I got home."

"Good to meet you, son."

"These three lovely young ladies are Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett. They were police officers with the LAPD, before joining The Townsend Agency and becoming private investigators. And over here we have Colt Seavers and his friend Jody Banks. They used to be Hollywood stunt people before all of this craziness went down."

"You were in movies?" says Hannibal joyfully, "What a coincidence, so was I! I was The Aquamaniac in parts two through five!"

"You were The Aquamaniac?" says Jody, "I was up for a part in the last one! I turned it down though."

"Really?" says Hannibal, "How come?"

"I had a problem with the wardrobe," she replies, "There wasn't any."

"Ah, that would be where I attacked the nude beach."

"Too bad," says Face, "I bet you would have been _great_ in the role."

"When they weren't taking falls to make Burt and Lonnie look good, they were bounty hunters," explains McAllister.

"Bounty hunters?" says Hannibal.

"Stunt people don't get paid the same big money that the actors get," says Colt.

"If I had known that a bounty hunter that looks like her was after me," says Face, "I would have allowed myself to get caught years ago."

"And last but not least is my student, Max Keller."

"Your student?" says Hannibal, "You teaching people to crash bomber planes?"

"Actually," says Max, "He's teaching me to be a ninja."

"A ninja?"

"Thirty years is a long time, my friend," replies McAllister, "And who is this you have with you?"

"This is my team. Here's my first officer, and acquisitions officer, Lieutenant Templeton 'Face Man' Peck. The big guy with the charming smile is our mechanic, Sergeant B.A. Barracus." B.A. growls at his introduction, "This here is our pilot, Captain H.M. 'Howling Mad' Murdock. And this lovely lady with us is our friend, ace investigative reporter Amy Amanda Allen. We're The A-Team."

"The A-Team?" says Enos, "Hot damn! I can't believe I didn't recognize you guys! We had your wanted posters up in the office back at Hazzard County! I'll be damned! The A-Team!" he turns to Daisy, "In the Vietnam War, these guys robbed the Bank of Hanoi! Made off with a half a billion dollars!"

"Actually it was more like a hundred million," says Face, "I guess you can say we had a yen for a little extra cash."

The rest of the team groans at the pun.

"Oh Face Man," whines Murdock, "That joke is so old."

"So?" replies Face, "So is the crime we were accused of."

"So what now Hannibal?" asks Amy.

"Well if Johnny and his group have no objections, I was thinking we could stay the night."

"After all we've been through together?" says McAllister, "I'd be offended if you didn't."

"All right! B.A. I need you to park the van right behind this RV here. Once it's in place, I need you and Face to grab some flashlights and hammers out of the back and make sure that none of the walkers are still moving. Especially the ones you ran over with the van, they're the most likely to have broken bodies but not necessarily be killed."

"Hannibal," says Face, "Can't Murdock have a turn? I mean, I just got these new boots and . . . "

"Move it Lieutenant!"

Face and B.A. head over to the van. "Great," grumbles the lieutenant, "I liked these boots."

"Shut up fool!" growls B.A., "You didn't even buy them! You just scrounged them out of a boot store!"

"Hey, they were the last pair of stingray boots left in my size. Now I'll probably get walker sludge all over them. They'll be ruined."

B.A. just shakes his head as he and Face Man climb into his van. Hannibal then turns to Murdock.

"Captain," he says, "As soon as the van is in place, I want you to reload, grab some night vision goggles, climb up on top of the RV, and take up watch!"

"Right Colonel!" replies Murdock with a sharp salute.

"Is there anything I can do Hannibal?" asks Amy.

"Sure, kid," replies the colonel, "Once the van is parked you can take an inventory of our ammunition. See how much we have left."

"Right."

"All right you guys!" shouts McAllister, "Let's move these vehicles and make some room!"

Immediately the rest of the group jumps into action, widening their circle of cars and trucks to make room for B.A.'s van. When Max finishes moving his van so that B.A. can squeeze his van into their circle of cars, McAllister walks up to his pupil and hands him the ninjato sword.

"I want you to help B.A. and Face," he says, "And try and recover as many arrows and throwing knives as you can."

"Shouldn't the scavenger hunt wait until daylight, when they're easier to spot?"

"We may need them again before the sun rises," replies The Master, "Humour me."

"You're the boss."

"And Max . . ."

"I know, I know. If I get bit, you'll stab me through the brain. Just promise me you'll take care of Henry if that ever happens."

"You got it," says the old ninja with a mischievous grin.

Max grabs a flashlight from his glove compartment and goes to do as he was asked. Meanwhile, Hannibal walks over to his old war buddy.

"So what the heck were you thinking?" Hannibal asks him, "Building a bonfire by the lake like you did? Don't you know that walkers are attracted to light? You were one of the best soldiers I have ever served with. And you're a ninja! You should know better."

"It was a calculated risk," says the master ninja, "The boys had shot a deer this morning. After butchering it, we stuffed as much as we could in the RV's fridge, but the fridge isn't very large so we had to cook the rest so it wouldn't go bad right away."

"You have a fridge?" asks Hannibal, "Full of meat? Fresh meat?"

"Yep," agrees McAllister, "What have you guys got?"

"Spam and Beanie-Weenies mostly," says Hannibal, "We also got a case of fruit cocktail, several boxes of skim milk powder, and a case of canned condensed milk. Weapons wise we have these four Rugers, four AR-15 assault rifles, two Uzis, an M-60, several handguns of various models and calibers, an M79 grenade launcher, as well as whatever we could scavenge along the way. How about you?"

"The Duke boys and I all have bows and arrows," replies McAllister, "Plus I have all of my other ninja equipment. Enos has his service revolver and shotgun. The Angels each has a .38 caliber revolver, plus there are three hunting rifles in the RV. A .22, a 30-30, and a 30-06. Unfortunately they ran out of ammunition for them some time ago. Colt and Jody have a variety of weapons stored in his truck. Most notably an AK-47, a couple of shotguns, and several revolvers."

Everyone who isn't working at securing the camp sits down around the fire. Daisy fixes Hannibal a plate of food and hands it to him, which the colonel accepts graciously. Once everyone has settled down on a stump or a log, Hannibal decides to get to know his hosts better.

"So," says the colonel, "How did you all come to be traveling together?"

"Max and I were on our way to Atlanta following up on a clue as to my daughter's whereabouts," replies McAllister.

"You have a daughter?" says Hannibal, just a little shocked, "Since when?"

"Apparently about twenty five years ago," replies The Master, "I got a letter in the mail about a year ago, when I was living in Japan. It was from Terri, telling me she was in trouble and needed my help. I've been looking for her ever since."

"And when did you meet Max?"

"Almost as soon as I arrived in the US. He and I made an arrangement. He would help me find my daughter . . ."

"And you would teach him to be a ninja," concludes Hannibal.

"How about you girls?" Hannibal asks The Angels.

"Our boss, Charlie, sent us to Atlanta to try and find a famous microbiologist who had disappeared," explains Jill, "We were in the middle of our search when the entire city was quarantined. The next thing we knew all hell broke loose. People were getting infected and attacking others. Eventually the military started just gunning everyone down, not just the walkers. The streets were being firebombed. The Angels and I, as well as a handful of other survivors, took to the sewers and managed to make our way to the edge of the city. We slipped past the blockade and headed up the highway. We found that RV. It used to belong to a family. Unfortunately, it appeared one of them had been infected, and turned on the rest of his family. We cleared the RV of walkers and commandeered it as our own. Then we ran into McAllister, and the rest, as they say, is history."

"How about you, deputy?"

"First I heard of the virus was when Boss Hogg's wife, Lulu, got sick," replies Enos, "She died in her sleep. Boss was sure broken up over her, cryin' at her bedside. But then she woke up. Boss was happy, right up until she bit his throat out. Roscoe, he was the sheriff and Lulu's baby brother, well he tried to stop her, but then both Boss and Lulu attacked him and just ate him up. They even ate his dog Flash! Well when I saw what was goin' on, I warned everyone to stay away from Boss Hogg and Lulu. I went to the local pub_, The Boar's Nest_, and I picked up Daisy and I brought her right home to the Duke family farm."

"Enos told Uncle Jesse and the boys what was goin' on in town," says Daisy, "So we made preparations to be able to make a quick getaway if needed, then boarded up the house and barricaded ourselves inside. We made sure to bring in the goat and a bunch of the hens so we would at least have a ready supply of eggs and milk if the farm ever got overrun."

"Sure enough, the infection swept through Hazzard County like wildfire," says Enos, "And everyone that had turned came to the Duke family farm looking for fresh meat."

"Our other cousins, Vance and Coy, were visiting us from the NASCAR circuit," says Luke, "So to be able to make it to the cars, we tossed the chickens out the window as a distraction, then made a break for it."

"Sounds sensible," says Hannibal.

"Well," continues Luke, "Uncle Jesse wasn't as young, or as healthy as he used to be. Plus, he was shootin' walkers with his double barrel shotgun as he ran. And we didn't know at the time that ya have to shoot 'em in the head."

"Let me guess . . ." says Hannibal.

"Uncle Jesse got overwhelmed," says Luke, "Walkers dragged him down to the ground and began eatin' him. Vance and Coy went back to try and help, but it was too late, and they both ended up gettin' bit."

"When I saw they was bit, I told 'em they had to stay behind," says Enos, "So they grabbed the wood axe and pitchfork from the barn, where the cars were parked, and served as decoys so we could get away."

"Wow," says Hannibal, "I'm very sorry about your family."

"Thank you," says Daisy somberly.

"Colt and I were in Atlanta shooting a movie when this all broke out," says Jody, "Plus we were hunting a fugitive."

"The guy jumped bail after being arrested for credit card fraud," says Colt, "Hardly a hardened criminal. But it's what pays the bills. Luckily he had been spotted in the Atlanta area and all I had to do was bring him into the local courthouse. Of course that was right about when the army moved in to quarantine the city."

"So you made your way out of the city just in time, found these guys, and the rest is history," says Hannibal.

"Pretty much."

Face and B.A. return to the camp, carrying sledgehammers covered in gore. With them is Max, with the ninjato tucked in his belt and a bundle of arrows in his hand.

"No walkers are gonna be moving tonight," says Face.

"Good work fellas," says Hannibal, "Now grab a couple of rifles and night vision goggles and join Murdock on watch. Each of you pick a van and guard our flanks."

"Hannibal . . ." says Face.

"Face," Hannibal interrupts him, "These people are sharing their camp and their food with us. The least we can do is take over sentry duty for them. We can burn the bodies tomorrow. Their smell should help mask our own and camouflage the camp for the night."

"I got my van," says B.A. as he heads over to his van, with Face Man hot on his heels.

Once they had left, Hannibal turns to his old friend. "So when did you become a ninja?"

"After Korea," replies McAllister, "I found myself in Tokyo with a ticket home and nothing to go home to. Something about the tranquility of the place, the people, the culture, just sit well with me. So I stayed."

"And just decided to become a ninja one day?"

"It was a little more complicated than that, but essentially, yes."

Everyone sits around the bonfire and enjoys each other's company quietly for a while. Eventually Jill Munroe goes into the RV and comes back out carrying an acoustic guitar, which she hands to Colt Seavers.

"How about some _Unknown Stunt Man_?" she says.

Colt takes the guitar and strums it a couple of times. He adjusts the strings a few times to get it in tune. Then he starts plucking the strings in a fun country style tune.

"I'm not one to kiss and tell, but I've been seen with Farrah

I've never been with anything less than a nine, so fine

I've been on fire with Sally Field, gone fast with a girl named Bo

But somehow they just don't end up as mine.

It's a death defying life I lead, I take my chances

I die for a living in the movies and TV.

But the hardest thing I'll ever do is watch my leading ladies,

Kiss some other guy while I'm bandaging my knee.

_I might fall from a tall building, or roll a brand new car,_

'_Cause I'm the unknown stunt man that makes Redford such a star._

I never spent much time in school, but I've taught ladies plenty

It's true I hire my body out for pay, hey hey.

I've gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch

But when I wind up in the hay it's only hay, hey hey

_I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine_

'_Cause I'm the unknown stunt man, that makes Eastwood look so fine_

They'll never make me President, but I got the best First Ladies

Some days I got 'em as far as the eye can see, ouee

A morning dove with Jacky Smith, a crash in the night with Cheryl

But in the end they never stay with me

_I might fall from a tower building, so Burt Reynolds don't get hurt_

_I might leap the mighty canyon, so he can kiss and flirt._

_While that smooth talker's kissing my girl, I'm just kissing dirt_

_Yes I'm the lonely stunt man, that made a lover out of Burt._

Hannibal claps his hands in appreciation of the song, as do many of the others around the fire. Tonight may have started out with bloodshed, but it is nice to be able to relax and enjoy yourself every once in a while. Soon Amy approaches the colonel.

"So what's the word kid?" he asks her.

"We still have plenty of ammo for the AR-15's," she tells him, "As well as the M-60, and the Uzis. We're running low on ammo for the Rugers, and the handguns. We still have a fair number of grenades for the grenade launcher, as well as hand grenades."

"How about food?"

"For the five of us? Maybe a month worth if we ration it. For everyone in this camp? We'll be lucky to last a week."

"Well, sit down and have something to eat," says the colonel, "You did good tonight."

"Should I take some to the guys?"

"In a little bit," replies Hannibal, "Daisy just put some vegetables on to cook for them. Their food should be done cooking by the time you've finished eating."

Amy sits down and is handed a plate by Daisy. Colt plucks away at the guitar strings a little more, then hands the instrument over to Luke.

"Here," says the former stunt man, "How about some _Good Ol' Boys_?"

Luke smiles as he takes up the guitar. The addition of five new, heavily armed and highly trained individuals to the group, especially as their leader and McAllister are old army buddies, has put him in a much cheerier mood. Granted, it is five more mouths to feed. But it's also more guns, more ammunition, and more people to fire them. The dark haired ex-marine begins plucking the guitar strings in a cheerful melody, and then begins to sing.

"Just a good ol' boys

Never meanin' no harm

Beats all you never saw

Been in trouble with the law

Since the day they was born

Straightnin' the curves

Flatnin' the hills

Someday the mountain might get 'em

But the law never will

_Makin' their way_

_The only way they know how_

_That's just a little bit more_

_Than the law will allow._

_Makin' their way_

_The only way they know how_

_That's just a little more_

_Than the law will allow._

I'm a good ol' boy

You know my momma loves me

But she don't understand

They keep showing my hands and not my face on TV

Just good ol' boys

Wouldn't change if they could

Fightin' the system like a true modern day Robin Hood."

Once again there is a round of applause as Luke finishes the Waylon Jennings song. Certain that the immediate danger is past, at least for tonight, many in the group feel a great sense of relief and are able to relax and enjoy themselves. At least for a little while.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Later that night, B.A. is sitting on top of his van, watching the camps right flank. The night vision goggles allow him to see every bit of movement in the surrounding area. The stench of death is nearly overwhelming. Part of B.A. longs to be down by the fire with the others, where the scent of wood smoke would mask the stench of carrion. But Hannibal was right about one thing, the surrounding stench should help mask their sent. And B.A. was a soldier, first and foremost. He knows his duty and won't shirk his responsibilities. Suddenly the sound of the van sunroof opening makes him start in surprise. The girl in the short jean cut offs, Daisy Duke, pops her head up through the opening.

"Hey!" she says cheerfully, "Just me! I brought ya somethin' ta eat." She brings up a plate of flame roasted venison, a couple of aluminum foil bundles, and a 595 ml plastic Coke bottle filled with what appears to be milk. "Yer friends said ya really like milk, so I mixed up some o' yer skim milk powder inta yer drinkin' water. Hope ya don't mind."

"That's awfully thoughtful of you, thanks," says B.A gratefully.

"I kin help y'all keep watch while ya eat if y'want," she offers.

"I'd appreciate that," he says.

Daisy pulls herself up through the sunroof and takes a seat next to the large, muscular black man. B.A. starts tearing into the aluminum foil, and is surprised to find fresh corn on the cob, baby carrots, baby potatoes, and chopped onions.

"Vegetables?" he says in astonishment, "Fresh vegetables? Where did you find fresh vegetables?"

"There's this little house not too far from here," she replies, "Has a vegetable garden in back. Looks like it's been abandoned for a while. I guess the vegetables weren't ready to harvest when the owners left. Anyway, we grabbed what we could and ran."

"Sounds nice," says B.A., "Why didn't you stay there?"

"Too many trees around," she says, "We wouldn't see the walkers comin' 'til it was too late. Also, the livin' room and dinin' room windows were all at ground level, and way too big to board up. No way we'd be able to keep walkers outa there for long."

"Sounds reasonable," agrees B.A.

"We didn't have no butter or margarine to put on yer vegetables, so I cooked 'em in deer fat with some salt 'n pepper. I hope that's okay."

"Are you kidding?" replies the big man, "After eating Beanie-Weenies for the past several days, this will be a real treat!"

"Oh, and we're short on cutlery so yer gonna hafta eat with yer hands. I guess we shoulda stolen some of their silverware too, while we were there."

"This'll be fine," he says. B.A. digs into the carrots, potatoes, and onions with his fingers, stuffing the hot food into his mouth quickly so as to keep from burning his fingers too badly. As Daisy had promised, there was no buttery taste, but he could taste the grease from the deer fat, which was new but not unpleasant. The salt and pepper she had added helped the taste some. At risk of burning the inside of his mouth with the hot food, B.A. takes a quick drink of his milk. His eyes widen in surprise and he looks at Daisy.

"This actually tastes like the real thing!" he exclaims in surprise.

"A little trick my Uncle Jesse taught me when I was a little girl," she says, "When mixing skim milk powder with water, ya add some canned condensed milk. It's best after a day in the fridge, but it'll make yer powdered milk taste like the real thing."

"So you used my skim milk powder_, and_ my canned milk?"

"Only some of it," she says, suddenly worried that she may have overstepped her bounds here, "That's okay, isn't it?"

"I just wish I had thought of mixing the two," he replies.

Daisy breathes a sigh of relief as B.A. picks up his piece of venison and takes a bite. Once again his eyes light up.

"Barbeque sauce!" he says, "Real barbeque sauce! How . . . ?"

"We came across a corner grocery store about a week ago," she says, "The place was pretty much picked clean, but we scavenged what we could. There was an entire case of the stuff left behind. Don't know if the other people ran out of room to carry it, or if it they didn't see the point as they had no meat to put it on. Anyway, we took it."

"Well, thank you for sharing it with us."

"D'ya mind if I ask ya a question?" asks Daisy.

"Shoot," replies B.A. as he takes another sip of his surprisingly real tasting milk.

"Why do you wear so much gold?"

B.A. stops drinking his milk and gets very quiet. "It's a long story," he says at last.

"I don't mind," she replies.

"It's kind of personal."

"There ain't no secrets in this group," she tells him.

The big man inhales a deep breath, and then releases it with a heavy sigh. He turns and looks at the young woman. Then he looks back out over the open field. She waits for him to speak. Finally he turns and looks her in the eye once more.

"Have you ever killed anybody?" he asks.

"Y'mean someone who ain't already dead and tryin' ta eat me?" she asks. B.A. nods his head. "No." she admits.

"I have."

"Vietnam?"

B.A. nods again. "It ain't like in the movies, or on TV. It's ugly. It's dirty. And it stays with you for the rest of your life."

"I know," says Daisy, "I sometimes hear Luke cryin' out at night. Sometimes he shouts out for people he knew in the corps. Sometimes he shouts out in what I guess is Vietnamese. Other nights he just screams. Don't say nothin', just screams."

"The dead," says B.A., "They stay with you. Every night, when you close your eyes. You see them. The ones you killed. The friends you couldn't save. All of them."

B.A. pauses briefly, and Daisy waits for him to continue. She knew from personal experience that Luke has a hard time talking about the war. And she didn't know B.A. very well, but she got the feeling that he liked talking about it even less. But he was opening up to her, so she patiently waited for him to continue.

"One of the first kills I ever made over there," he says, "We were pinned down by enemy fire. I managed to work my way around to their flank. All I could see through the bushes was the VC's black pajamas, his AK-47, and the muzzle flashes as he fired at the team. I took aim and opened fire. When the shooting was over, I went to check on the enemy, make sure he was dead." B.A. paused to collect his thoughts, "He was just a kid. Couldn't have been more than twelve years old. Charlie recruited a twelve year old kid, gave him a rifle, and trained him to kill us."

Daisy gasps at this revelation and brings her hand to her mouth. She almost doesn't want him to continue. But B.A., speaking of this for the first time in years, presses on.

"When we got home," he says, "After we broke out of prison, I started seeing him every night when I fell asleep. I saw others too, but his face was always the first one I would see. One day, I don't really know why, but I was thinking about his face while I was looking through men's rings in a jewelry store. On impulse I bought one." He holds up his right hand and extends his pinky finger, "This one, right here. Ever since I put it on, his face hasn't haunted my dreams. Then I started buying other pieces, each one for a face that I would see when I closed my eyes at night. Each time, that face would stop haunting my dreams."

"My God," says Daisy, after several moments' silence.

"Now you see why I don't like to talk about it." They sit quietly for several more moments. "Can I ask you something?" asks B.A.

"Sure. What?" replies Daisy.

"Why is a white supremacist being so nice to a black man?"

"_What_?" she almost shrieks.

B.A. looks past her and motions for her to turn around with his chin. She turns and sees what he was referring to. The Confederate flag painted on top of The General Lee. Daisy lets out an exasperated sigh. Yankees always get the wrong idea about her family whenever they see the flag painted on top of their family's car.

"We _are not_ white supremacists," she says with a tone of finality, "Our Uncle Jesse raised us to judge a man by his actions, not the colour of his skin! The General Lee represents our pride in our family, and our pride in Hazzard County. It _is not_ a symbol of any political or racial beliefs."

"Then why not paint over it?"

"That car was willed to Luke by his parents when they died while runnin' moonshine for Uncle Jesse when we was just kids," she explains, "It's not only the fastest damn car in the whole damn county, it also has extreme sentimental value. Not only to Luke, but also to me and Bo, who also lost our parents in that car crash. We can no more paint over The General Lee than . . . you could tear up a picture of your momma."

"I guess I never thought about that," admits B.A.

"Well, I'm goin' ta bed. Enjoy yer meal," and with that Daisy crawls through the sunroof and returns to camp.

The night passes uneventfully. Whether this is because the stench of the dead walkers littering the open field is masking the scent of everyone in the camp, or because there were no more walkers within ear shot of the firefight, none can say. Everyone has some fruit cocktail for breakfast, provided by the A-Team, and some instant coffee provided by The Angels. Then most of the camp get to work piling up the bodies of the walkers and gathering firewood to burn them with. The only ones not helping with this are Hannibal, McAllister, Colt Seavers, Enos, and Sabrina Duncan. They are all gathered around the hood of The General Lee with various road maps laid out before them.

"Not to state the obvious, but we can't stay here," says Sabrina.

"So where should we go?" asks Enos.

"We need to find somewhere that is defensible, but will also allow us to be self-sufficient," says The Master.

"I have a few ideas in that regard," says Hannibal as he lights his cigar.

"You still smoking those disgusting things?" asks McAllister.

"Not so much nowadays," admits Hannibal, "Finding new cigars is tough. But I always think better when I smoke."

"You always were the one with the plans."

"So what are you thinking, Colonel?" asks Enos.

"The way I see it," says Hannibal, "We have three directions ahead of us, and four possible final destinations."

"Three directions and four destinations?" asks Colt.

"Well, two of them are more or less in the same direction."

"So where should we go?" asks Sabrina.

"I figure we have a choice between east, west, and north," replies Hannibal.

"Why not south?" asks Enos.

"I can't think of anywhere south of here where we can barricade ourselves in and be safe from the walkers for any length of time," he replies.

"How about The Alamo?" asks Enos.

"It's possible you're forgetting what happened to the last bunch of people who barricaded themselves inside The Alamo," replies the colonel.

"Good point," says Enos, "But then I don't think the walkers are gonna be blasting the walls with cannons."

"True," admits Hannibal, "But we're going to have a devil of a time making that place self-sufficient. Still, it's not a bad suggestion for a Plan E."

"So what do you have in mind, Colonel?" asks Sabrina.

"Washington DC is just east of here," explains Hannibal, "As is The White House."

"You think the President of these United States is gonna help us?" asks Enos.

"Maybe," says Hannibal, "If he's still there. But I have a feeling he's Likely in Denver Colorado, hiding in the fallout shelter they built there for The President and other members of High Society that the country just can't survive without. Either way, The White House is the closest and most secure location where we can hold out against almost any number of walkers almost indefinitely."

"Almost?" says McAllister.

"Well, if the gates are still intact. And if there's someone in the White House to let us in. Or at least if they left the doors unlocked. Then yeah, we can hold out there for a long time. The entire perimeter of the grounds is surrounded by a twelve foot high wrought iron fence, deeply cemented into the ground. I highly doubt any number of walkers will be able to knock that thing over. The White House itself is designed to withstand terrorist attacks and prevent assassination attempts. The doors are steel reinforced. The windows all have bullet proof glass and security bars. You would need a tank to break in. Inside the White House is huge. There are the living quarters of the First Family, guest rooms, servants' quarters, Secret Service quarters . . . you can house a small army in there. And outside, the back yard is the size of a football field. All you'd have to do is cut away the sod to get to the fertile soil underneath and you can make a vegetable garden as large as you want."

"Assuming the gates are intact," says McAllister.

"That . . . and the fact that there's likely at least a thousand walkers between us and the gates," everyone looks at Hannibal with an expression of shock, "What? I said they were our best chances, not that it would be easy."

"So what's up north?" asks Colt, trying to get away from the thought of fighting through thousands of walkers in order to maybe find sanctuary at The White House.

"Canada," replies Hannibal, "Specifically Bath, Ontario and Quebec City, Quebec."

"Why there?"

"Well, Canada in general because of their bitter cold winters," replies Hannibal, "Ontario and Quebec are known to get far below zero degrees before you even factor in the wind chill."

"Of course!" says The Master, "Walkers are just reanimated dead flesh! They have no internal body heat. When the temperature drops below zero, they'll be frozen solid. They won't be able to move."

"Then we'll just have to strap on some snow shoes, walk right up to them, and smash their skulls with a hammer without having to worry about getting bit."

"Okay," says Enos, "But why those two cities?"

"Well Canada isn't frozen three hundred sixty five days a year," says Hannibal, "We'll need a place to live during the warmer months when it's more dangerous to go out scavenging for supplies."

"Okay . . ."

"Bath, Ontario is the location of Canada's toughest maximum security prison. If the prison has been abandoned, that means there will be steel fences, concrete walls, and locked steel doors to keep the walkers out."

"And if it isn't abandoned?"

"If it isn't abandoned then either it's overrun with walkers. Or the inmates have taken it over. Or some other survivors have thought the same thing I have and are now living there. If it's overrun with walkers, then all we'll have to do is clear it out and it'll be ours. Plus, there should be enough food to feed several hundred inmates for weeks, plus an infirmary full of medicines and clean bandages. If it's been taken over by survivors like us, maybe they'll let us join their group."

"And if it's been taken over by the inmates?"

"Then we'll need to find somewhere else to live. I don't like the idea of these ladies living alongside convicted felons."

"Last I heard, bank robbery was a felony," says Sabrina with a mischievous wink.

"Only if you get caught," replies Hannibal, "Besides, we were never convicted."

"Okay," says The Master, "That explains the pros and cons of Ontario. What about Quebec?"

"Quebec City is one of the few walled cities left in the world today," explains Hannibal, "When it was first built by the French in the seventeen or eighteen hundreds, they built a wall around it to protect the city from British and American invasion, as well as Indian attacks. As the city expanded over the decades, they just built the city past the confines of the wall. But the wall itself is still there."

"Interesting," says McAllister, "So we head to Quebec, enter the city walls, then close the gates and lock the walkers out."

"That's the general idea," says Hannibal.

"So what's the down side of this plan?" asks Colt.

"For one thing," replies the colonel, "We might not be the first ones to think of this. There could very well be other survivors there already, and they might not want to take us in. Also, like Washington, Quebec is a major metropolitan area. There could be thousands of walkers between us and the gates. Even if we are the first people to think of this, and we do make it to the gates and barricade ourselves in, we could be barricading ourselves inside high stone walls with thousands of walkers already inside. And if we decide to travel into Canada in the winter time when we would be safe from walkers, we won't be safe from the weather. Without snowplows to clear the roads, and salt trucks to melt the ice, we'd likely get stuck long before we reached either location."

"So what's the last possible destination?" asks Sabrina.

"San Francisco," says the colonel, "Specifically, Alcatraz Island."

"Alcatraz?" says Enos.

"Alcatraz," confirms Hannibal, "Before it was a prison, Alcatraz was a military fortification designed to repel attacks from foreign countries like England or Spain. When it was converted into a prison it was virtually escape proof. And if it's impossible to break out, it should be nearly as impossible to break in. Being a prison means stone walls, chain link fences, steel gates that lock, and guard towers. It hasn't been in service for years, which means there should be minimal people or walkers there for us to deal with. It's on an island, which means we should be safe from wandering herds of walkers as well as most bandits. Also, being an island, that means we would be surrounded by a bay full of fish. As long as the fishing is good, we should never go hungry."

"You know," says Colt, "I was Clint Eastwood's stunt double on the Dirty Harry movie_, The Enforcer_."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And the big climax was shot on location at Alcatraz. Between takes I would take a walk around when they didn't need me to double for Clint, and there were a bunch of apple and fig trees growing wild on the island. So there's even more food."

"Max and I followed a lead to San Francisco trying to find Terri," says The Master, "When the trail went cold, Max and I decided on taking the Alcatraz tour. Last time I was in San Francisco before then, it was still an active prison. Anyway, according to our tour guide, seagulls and pelicans like to nest on the islands shores."

"So?" says Enos.

"Well just because you can't buy seagulls and pelicans at your local butcher, doesn't mean you can't eat them."

"I've heard of people eating stranger things," says Sabrina.

"I've seen it," says Hannibal, "We don't call Murdock 'Howling Mad' because it's catchy. Before civilization fell, he had been living the past ten years or so in the psychiatric ward of the V.A."

"There's still one problem," says Enos, "How are we gonna get there? Just like Washington and Quebec, there are probably thousands of walkers between us and the harbour."

"True," agrees Hannibal, "But to reach _this_ location, I've come up with a plan."

"Really?" asks McAllister, now very intrigued, "What plan?"

"We're not going directly to San Francisco," he says, "We're going to Lobster Cove."

"Where?"

"It's a little fishing town about half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles. We did some probono work for a family of lobster fishermen a few years back. If they're still alive, I'm sure they'd be willing to lend us their boat. And if they're not, then they won't mind if we borrow it. It's a win/win."

"What about walkers?" asks Colt.

"It's a very small town," says Hannibal, "Most of the walkers have probably moved on. Those that haven't are probably in manageable numbers."

"That's a lot of 'probablys'," says Sabrina.

"I never said it was a fool proof plan. Only that it was a plan."

"Okay," says McAllister, "everywhere else had a long list of cons, what's the cons list for Alcatraz?"

"Aside from there being no guarantee that we'll be able to get a boat to get out there?" asks Hannibal, "Well, first of all, the Pacific Coast is farther from here than either Washington DC or Canada. If we take the highway, push ourselves hard, and don't run into any trouble, we can be there in maybe two days. If we take the back roads as we have been doing, we're more likely to find food and gas, but it'll take us twice as long to get there. Also, nobody has actually lived at Alcatraz for years, so it's most likely somewhat run down. There won't be any food stored there, nor medical supplies. Drinking water will be an issue, as the bay is filled with sea water. And even if we can build our own vegetable gardens to grow our own food, we're not going to see any results for several weeks. And finally, even if we do make it there, there might be other survivors barricaded inside the prison who might not wish to share their shelter with us. Other than that, compared to the other locations, Alcatraz is a cakewalk."

"Well Hannibal, I trust you," says McAllister, "I say we go to Alcatraz."

"I have to admit," says Sabrina, "Alcatraz seems like it's the best choice."

"Agreed," says Colt.

"Then it's unanimous," says Enos, "We're goin' ta Alcatraz!"

Almost as soon as they start folding up their road maps, the others have returned from building the funeral pyres. Three thick columns of greasy black smoke rise up into the sky as the rotted bodies of the slain walkers burn away amidst the piles of firewood loaded on top of them. Everyone comes back from their duty covered in sweat and grime from the chore.

"So," says Jody, "Where are we going?"

"Just as soon as everyone has had a chance to clean up, we're heading to Alcatraz," replies Colt.

"Alright!" exclaims the beautiful blonde.

Jody, Daisy, Amy, and the three Angels head into the RV and in a matter of minutes they exit dressed in swimwear. They run down into the lake and jump in the water. The guys quickly strip down to their shorts and join the fun. While Hannibal is a little leery of staying this close to the funeral pyres for any extended time, he allows his team this moment of recreation. He knows that it could be days before any of them have a chance to take another bath.

After a while, B.A. returns from swimming. Colt, Enos, McAllister, and Hannibal have already packed up the camp, and are just waiting for everyone to finish up in the lake.

"So what's the plan, Hannibal?" asks the big man as he towels off.

"We're gonna need to start planting food almost right away," says the colonel, "Especially if we're gonna make Alcatraz a place where we can live indefinitely."

"We should build greenhouses then," says the sergeant, "We can grow vegetables all year long that way, and won't have to worry about freak storms or flocks of birds ruining our crops."

"Good thinking B.A.," replies Hannibal, "What will you need?"

"Some lumber. Nails. Screws. Large sheets of Plexiglas. Planting soil. Plus seeds for vegetables. Maybe some baby berry bushes. Raspberry and blueberry. Stuff that don't need lots of attention."

"Right," says Hannibal, taking a mental note of what they'll need.

"What'll we do about water?" asks B.A.

"We'll bring rain barrels with us," replies the colonel, "Plus as many plastic buckets as we can find to use as rain catchers. I figure we might also try building a still."

"You gonna make moonshine?"

"No," laughs Hannibal, "It'll be for turning sea water into fresh drinking water."

"Good idea," agrees the big man, "How we gonna get there?" B.A. suddenly stiffens up, "I ain't gonna fly, Hannibal!" he exclaims pointing a threatening finger at his commander.

"Relax B.A.," says Hannibal calmly, "We'll be going by boat. Remember that job we did in Lobster Cove, when you hurt your foot by stepping on that rusty nail?"

"Oh yeah," says B.A., then he chuckles and grins, "That was when I threw Murdock into the ocean!"

"Well, I figure we should be able to find some boats there that we can use to take us to Alcatraz."

"I don't like leavin' my van behind, Hannibal."

"I know B.A." says Hannibal somberly, and the big man can't quite tell if he's being sincere or not, "We'll find a good hiding spot for it. Hopefully, when this all blows over, it'll be at Lobster Cove waiting for you."

"You really think this'll blow over?"

"The walkers will rot away sooner or later. We just gotta make sure we're still around when they do."

The other members of the group return from their swim and dry off. As soon as everyone has put on some clean clothes, everyone piles into their respective vehicles. The Angels take the lead in their RV, followed by The A-Team in their van. Max and The Master follow in their van, followed by Bo and Luke in The General Lee. Enos and Daisy follow in his squad car, and Colt and Jody bring up the rear in Colt's truck. Just for good measure, Bo hits the horn on The General Lee, which plays the first few notes of Dixie. As the convoy of cars and trucks heads off into the distance, all any of them can see of their old camp are the pillars of smoke where the walkers are burning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The miles drift by as the convoy of vehicles drive along the dusty country roads. The group stops whenever a farmhouse comes into view to scavenge for supplies, though more often than not the places have all been picked clean by other survivors. As the sun begins to sink towards the western horizon, the group pulls their vehicles off the road to set up camp for the night. They find a clearing where they are protected by large trees and thick bushes on most sides. With the RV and the vans parked strategically in the opening, walkers would have an extremely difficult time getting into their camp. Even if they do get in, they will only be able to do so a few at a time. Not enough to be a significant threat to a wary and well-armed group of survivors. To further secure the area, the group strings up several lines of tin cans, which will chime together when disturbed, alerting the group to anything trying to sneak up on them. The Duke boys even have several steel jawed traps which they set up about the camp perimeter.

Once the security measures are in place, the group goes about setting up the camp. They pitch their tents, unroll their sleeping bags, and build a small campfire for cooking. The western sky turns a bright orange as the sun begins to sink beneath the horizon. As the light begins to fade, John Peter McAllister and his student, Max, begin to practice their kata together. Amy Allen watches them as they go through their ninja training, their motions perfectly synchronized with one another. Hannibal sits by the campfire, clenching his unlit cigar between his teeth and looking over a road map as he's approached by B.A.

"How far have we got Hannibal?" asks the large black man.

"I figure we're about half way through Tennessee," replies the older man, "At this rate we should make it to California in about another four days or so, if our fuel holds out."

"Perfect," says the sergeant, "The next crossroads we come to, we should head north."

"North?" says the colonel in confusion, "Why north?"

"Tennessee is just south of Illinois. If we head straight north from here, we can be in Chicago within a day."

"Chicago?" says Hannibal, and then realization dawns on him, "B.A. . . ."

"I gotta go find my Mama," says the big man, "I gotta make sure she's okay."

"B.A., all of the major cities are complete war zones. Going to Chicago would be suicide."

"Come on Hannibal! We got us a whole team of police and soldiers to help us. Heck, we even got us a couple of ninjas!"

"We also have no plan. We're short on ammunition. And some of these vehicles won't protect their occupants if they're swarmed by walkers."

"Man, just when I needed you to be on The Jazz."

"B.A., you know as well as anybody that there's a world of difference between being on The Jazz and being suicidal. Now I love your mom. She took us all in when we went to Chicago to help her out against that unscrupulous real estate investor. But as things are right now, we can't do anything to help her. But I promise you, Sergeant, as soon as we're set up at Alcatraz, I will figure out a plan to get her out of Chicago and bring her to California to live with us."

"That could be a long time, Hannibal. I don't like making her wait like that. She's old. She can't fight off walkers too good at her age."

"She's also a tough old gal," replies Hannibal, "After all, she raised you. And she's also smart. She knows she can't out run or out fight walkers at her age. She probably has that pretty lady lawyer who lives upstairs from her make supply runs. And remember, if properly barricaded, an apartment building is one of the safest places to hold up against walkers. As long as she has plenty of food, she should be fine."

"I still don't like it Hannibal."

"Neither do I, B.A., but we have to play the hand we're dealt."

The group spends an uneventful night at the camp. They eat a meal of leftover venison and canned vegetables. Not quite as enjoyable a meal as the night before, but being able to eat at all in this day and age is something of a luxury. They take turns keeping watch, and at dawn they break camp. With the precision of a well-oiled machine, they manage to collect their security measures, pack their gear, and hit the road in a matter of minutes. B.A. is silent as he drives his van along the dirt road, following Bo and Luke as they lead the way in The General Lee. Face, Murdock, and Amy can all feel the tension between the big guy and their leader. They all hope Hannibal can come up with a workable plan to rescue B.A.'s mother. This kind of infighting is precisely the type of thing that gets people killed in situations like what the world is facing today. Once again, as the sun is about to set, the group stops for the night. Unfortunately there's no wooded area for them to pull into this time. They park their cars by a fence, behind which they can see cows grazing.

"Hey look B.A.!" says Murdock in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Hamburgers!"

"If those are dairy cows, we might even be able to have some fresh milk for tonight," adds Amy.

B.A. smiles at his friends. He knows that they're trying to cheer him up. He even knows that Hannibal is right about it being too dangerous to try and rescue his mother from a big city like Chicago. He just feels so guilty about not being able to be there to help keep her safe, with him being a fugitive from the law and everything. That night they eat the last of the venison. As it turns out, the cows were dairy cows. Bo, Luke, Daisy, and Enos spend hours filling every empty bottle they have with fresh milk, which they keep refrigerated in The Angels' RV. So at least for the next few days they will have fresh milk to drink. Max and The Master spar during the last minutes of daylight. Max's skill at ninjitsu is impressive, yet he can't seem to get through McAllister's defenses. Still, The Master would tell you that his student has come a long way from when he had first met him, just over a year ago.

As the sun goes down and darkness engulfs the camp, the band of survivors sit about the campfire. Shortly thereafter, they hear a rumbling in the distance. Luke Duke, who is standing watch atop the RV, whistles to the others, imitating the sound of a red breasted robin nearly perfectly. Bo, Daisy, and Enos recognise this as their predetermined signal for approaching trouble. The group quickly gets to their feet, preparing for any trouble that may come their way. It doesn't take long for the source of the noise to make itself clear. Several headlights are coming down the road, too oddly spaced to be from any cars or trucks. Which means the noise that's approaching them is the roar of several motorcycles.

In minutes the bikers are at the camp. When they arrive, they start driving their bikes around in circles, doing donuts in the dirt road, kicking up dust, and making a general nuisance of themselves. McAllister and Hannibal glance at each other. They're both fairly certain that these men and women aren't just a bunch of citizens who had just happened to choose to drive cross country on motorcycles to escape the walkers. If their aggressive demeanor wasn't a tip off that they were a gang of outlaw bikers, their identical denim vests with matching patches sewn onto the backs certainly were. In fact, some of these bikers looked remarkably familiar to Hannibal. Finally the bikers quit their horsing around and park their hogs. A large black man with a shaved head dismounts his bike and approaches the two white haired army buddies. He stands in front of them with his hands on his hips, smiling at the sight of them, obviously not too impressed. He gives a short, loud whistle to his men, which is apparently a signal to follow suit, for the rest of the gang dismounts as well.

"Howdy," says the colonel in a casual tone, "You know, with all that racket you guys were making coming up the road, every walker within a ten mile radius is gonna know where you fellas are."

"Walkers?" says the head biker as though he doesn't understand.

"Yeah, walkers," replies Hannibal, "You know. Dead people coming back to life, walking around trying to eat anything living that moves. Walkers"

"Walkers, huh? I like that! We've been calling them 'Dead Heads'."

"That works too," admits Hannibal, "So what can we help you with?"

"You can start by handing over any food you guys have got," says the biker, "Along with any gas you have in your tanks. Guns. Ammo. And anything else we feel like taking," then he gives Daisy Duke an appraising look, "And I do mean anything."

"Well, we have a little problem with that, you see," replies Hannibal, "Thing is, our stuff is _our stuff. _We don't just hand it over to any hairless ape who wants it. Especially one as dumb and ugly as you."

"You're gonna pay for that, man!"

"I'll send you a cheque, man!"

"Wait a minute!" says the biker, "Wait a minute! I remember you! You were that chump that left me to rot in that small town sheriff's jail cell!"

"That's where I recognize you from!" exclaims Hannibal, "Bad Rock, Arkansas! You're The Barbarians!"

"Take a good look at my face, chump! I'm the last thing you're ever gonna see!"

"What now, 8-Ball?" asks one of the Barbarians.

"What do you think? Nail this clown!"

On his command, The Barbarians attack The A-Team and their friends. 8-Ball takes a wild swing at Hannibal. The colonel ducks under the clumsy blow and punches the biker in the gut, then follows it up with a left hook to the jaw and a straight right cross to the eye, knocking his opponent to the ground. One of the bikers attacks McAllister. He doesn't even get to take a swing at the aging ninja. As he's winding up to deliver a haymaker of a punch, The Master takes him out with a spinning heel kick. A biker takes a swing at B.A. The large mowhawked soldier blocks the attempt, and then punches him in the face. During the brief distraction, another biker manages to slip in and punch B.A. in the gut. The big man doesn't even flinch. He just glares at the biker, who punches B.A. again, this time in the face. Again B.A. doesn't flinch. He just grabs the biker by his jacket and drives his head into the smaller man's face, a move often referred to as a _Glasgow Kiss. _The biker falls to the ground, his nose splattered all over his face, totally unconscious.

Bo and Luke Duke are standing back to back as they are fighting The Barbarians. They had stood their ground in many a barroom brawl using this strategy, and more often than not were the last two standing. A Barbarian comes at Bo with a left hook, which the younger Duke blocks. He then retaliates with a series of quick stiff jabs to the face, and then a roundhouse right knocks him out. Another Barbarian charges at Luke, who ducks down and throws the biker up and over his head like a professional wrestler. The Barbarian hits the ground hard, and then rolls over onto his belly in order to get back to his feet. But before he could even get his feet under him, Luke kicks him in the head, knocking him out cold. Enos, meanwhile, is sticking close to Daisy. Not that he'd be foolish enough to assume that she needs his help. He knows better than most that Daisy can out drive, out shoot, and out fight most men. But he really didn't like the way that this gang's leader looked at her. While it was rare for Enos to ever have to use his nightstick in the line of duty as a deputy sheriff of Hazzard County, he had spent time working in the L.A.P.D. and was perfectly capable of wielding his stick with as much skill as any big city police officer. Any bikers that got too near him or Daisy soon learns just how skilled the young deputy really is.

Daisy Duke isn't one to sit on the sidelines and let others fight her battles for her. Like her cousins, she has stood tall in many a barroom brawl while waiting tables at _The Boar's Nest_. A Barbarian manages to get past Enos and tries to grab her. Daisy ducks under the biker's reaching arms, coming up behind him. Before he can even turn around, she hauls off and kicks him in the groin from behind. The biker grasps his injured manhood and collapses to the ground, whimpering in a voice at least a couple of octaves higher than what his normal voice likely normally sounds like. When Enos sees that this biker had nearly gotten his hands on Daisy, he hauls off and cracks him in the skull with his nightstick, knocking him out.

Colt Seavers and Jody Banks also fight the bikers side by side. A Barbarian comes at Colt and throws a wild punch at him. The former stuntman blocks the attack, then punches the biker in the face. He then shoves the stunned Barbarian towards Jody, who delivers an impressive thrust kick to his gut. As the biker doubles over, both Colt and Jody grab him and drive his head into the side of Colt's pickup truck. Another biker goes to attack them, but Face Man grabs him from behind, spins him about, and then punches him out. He smiles at Jody and turns, just in time to side step another Barbarian who was charging at him. The biker roars past Peck, and is doubled over by both Jody and Colt kneeing him in the gut. They both then knee him in the face, sending him staggering back to Face Man, who knocks him out with a roundhouse right punch.

Much like Daisy Duke, Charlie's Angels hardly need help from any man. In fact, no Barbarian seems to be able to touch any of them, unless you count getting punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, and thrown to the ground by these three ladies as touching them. A Barbarian comes charging at the three former detectives but is stopped dead in his tracks by a kick to the gut by Jill Munroe. She then brings her elbow up to connect solidly with the biker's chin. Then after a quick, stiff knee to his abdomen, she throws him to the ground with an impressive judo throw. As he hits the ground, Sabrina Duncan knocks him out with a straight thrust kick to the bridge of his nose. Another Barbarian comes charging at the Angels like a bull charging a matador. This time he's met by Sabrina, who uses his own size and momentum against him by taking him down with a simple judo move. The Barbarian lands hard in the dirt. But as he sits up to try and continue his assault, Kelly Garrett delivers an impressive spin heel kick, catching him square on the jaw and knocking him out. A third Barbarian tries his luck with the Angels. This time Kelly stuns him with a roundhouse kick to the jaw. Then she delivers a thrust kick to his back, sending him staggering to Jill, who grabs him in a wrist lock and flips him onto his back, where he gets the heel of Sabrina's boot right between the eyes, knocking him out.

Being the least physically capable of the group, Amy Allen sticks close to H.M. Murdock and Max Keller. She and Murdock have always had a very close friendship. It's not exactly a stretch to say that she loves him. Not in any romantic sort of way, more like a big brother. And Max? Well, she hardly knows him. He's definitely handsome. She could possibly even see herself falling for him at some point. But right now she needs to stay close to whoever will keep her safe. Murdock has the motivation, and judging from his sparring matches with The Master, Max has the skills. Not that Murdock doesn't know how to fight, he certainly does, but Max just seems a little bit better at hand to hand combat. A Barbarian comes at Max in an attempt to grapple him. The young ninja student grabs the biker's arm, throws him over his shoulder to the ground, the knocks him out with a scissors kick. Another Barbarian comes at Max, and gets knocked out cold by a spinning heel kick. A Barbarian starts swinging wildly at Murdock. The chopper pilot blocks a left hook, then a roundhouse right, and then ducks under another left, and then he pokes the biker in the eyes like in a Three Stooges comedy sketch. The biker clutches his injured eyes with his hand, leaving himself wide open to attack. So Murdock quickly capitalizes on his opponent's blindness and delivers a quick one-two punch to the biker's abdomen and kidneys. Then when the biker doubles over in pain, Murdock elbows him in the back of the head, which drops him to his hands and knees. Then the pilot grabs the Barbarian by the head and drives a knee to his temple, knocking him out cold.

Hannibal is holding his own against The Barbarians. A Barbarian comes straight at him and Hannibal takes him out with a right cross to the jaw. Another Barbarian tries to flank the colonel, but Hannibal sees him coming out of his peripheral vision and elbows the biker in the gut. Then he quickly follows it up with an elbow to the face, and then finishes him with a roundhouse right punch. At Hannibal's feet, 8-Ball is just coming to. He looks around in a daze, and then shouts out "Ogre! Where are you man? Get over here and smoke this clown!"

Hannibal turns around and kicks 8-Ball in the head, knocking him out yet again. Then he turns around to see who it is that 8-Ball was shouting to. Then he sees him. Like his leader, he has a shaven head, but while 8-Ball has a goatee, Ogre has a handlebar mustache. He kind of looks like a professional boxer from the 1800's. And this guy is enormous. He must stand at least 7' tall. And by the looks of things, he's no stranger to the weight room. This guy has muscles in places where most people don't even have places. Of course, big muscles don't mean much if you don't know how to fight. But Hannibal Smith had been a soldier for a lot of years. He knows a thing or two about hand to hand combat, including how to spot a skilled fighter. And the way this guy moves? He's more than just a brawler, that's for damn sure. As Ogre approaches the colonel, Hannibal decides to try and take the big man's wheels out from under him. No matter how big someone is, they're all the same size once they're on their back. So Hannibal hauls off and delivers the strongest damn kick he could muster, putting everything he has behind it. His foot makes solid contact with the side of Ogre's knee, and the colonel damn near breaks his own leg from the impact. Hannibal steps back, trying to walk off the injury, but Ogre keeps on coming as though nothing had happened. So Hannibal steps in and throws several punches into Ogres washboard abs. The giant biker just grins down at the smaller man. Hannibal tries throwing a punch at Ogre's jaw, but the larger man catches his arm in mid-swing and then punches the colonel in the jaw. Hannibal Smith is sent flying face first into the dirt. Before he can even think about getting back to his feet, Hannibal feels Ogre's gigantic hands grabbing him from behind. In an instant, Hannibal is lifted from the ground and thrown into the motorcycles.

Face Man and Colt Seavers run to Hannibal's aid. The two men jump on Ogre's back, trying to wrestle him to the ground. They felt like children trying to wrestle with an adult. Face has Ogre in a choke hold, his arm wrapped tightly around the big man's thick, muscular neck in an attempt to make him pass out. Seavers has his arms wrapped around Ogre's leg and is trying desperately to lift him up and put him off balance. Neither man is being very successful in their endeavors. Ogre grabs Face Man's wrists and easily pulls open the smaller man's hold. Then with a simple take down, throws the lieutenant over his shoulder and onto the ground. He then grabs Colt Seavers around the waist and heaves him up and over in a gut-wrench suplex. Then in a display of acrobatic skill one would not expect from a man so large, Ogre nips up from a prone position back to his feet. Face and Colt can't help but look upon this giant of a man with a little bit of awe.

"This reminds me of when I doubled for Harrison Ford for the fight scene with the huge Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Arc," says the former stunt man.

"You were in Raiders?" asks Face.

"I love that movie!" exclaims Ogre.

"Really?" says Colt, for a moment dropping his guard. The second he does, a huge fist collides with his face, knocking him out cold.

Ogre then takes a swing at Face Man. The lieutenant ducks under the punch and then hits Ogre in the stomach with a flurry of punches. Then he tries the face, first with a left, and then with a right. None of the punches even faze the big man. He just grins down at Face, and then grabs him by the shoulder with the iron grip of one huge paw. Then he drives his other fist into Face Man's gut, once, twice, three times. A quick knee to Face's jaw knocks him out. Ogre turns around to try and find more opponents. As he does so, Murdock charges at him, his head down in an attempt to tackle Ogre to the ground. As he collides with the huge biker, he finds it more akin to running into a brick wall. Ogre grabs the chopper pilot by the neck and lifts him high into the air. Ogre shakes Murdock like a rag doll as the captain tries to breathe.

"_B.A." _gasps Murdock as he's suspended in the air, _"Little help!"_

B.A. Barracus walks up to the biker who's strangling his fellow team member and punches him in the stomach with all of his strength. This time Ogre actually reacts to the punch, dropping Murdock and staggering back while clutching his gut. B.A. steps in and hits him again, this time a right cross to the jaw. Again Ogre is rocked back on his heels. But unlike most men B.A. has fought over the years, he didn't go down. Instead he just looks at B.A. and grins, probably impressed that he may have finally met a worthy adversary. Ogre hauls off and punches B.A. in the eye, a blow that would knock most men down if not out. B.A. Barracus just rocks back, and then glares at the huge biker. After a moment where they silently exchange their respect for one another, the two mighty warriors clash, grappling and punching each other like a couple of professional wrestlers in the middles of a bitter feud.

Ogre isn't the only biker who is proving to be a handful for the survivors. A biker named Kwan, a Chinese member of the Barbarians with a black goatee and a long black skullet. He also is apparently highly skilled in kung fu. He comes running at Bo and Luke Duke, and then leaps into a flying jump kick. The two cousins dodge to either side, causing the Chinaman to miss completely. Bo tries to take him on, throwing a roundhouse right punch at Kwan's head. Kwan easily blocks the telegraphed punch, and then retaliates with a lightning quick flurry of punches into Bo's chest, then a quick punch to the jaw, knocking him down. Luke tries grabbing Kwan from behind, but the Chinaman twists out of the former marine's grasp and flips him down to the ground. Luke rolls to his feet and turns to meet his opponent face to face. Kwan hits him with a kick to the abdomen, followed immediately with a kick to the face, and then a roundhouse kick followed immediately with a spinning heel kick. Luke goes down and is not getting up again anytime soon. Bo manages to rise shakily to his feet, But Kwan knocks him back down again with a flying jump kick, much like what he initially tried attacking with.

"Bo! Luke!" cries Daisy as she runs to her cousins' aid. As soon as she gets within reach of her family members, Kwan knocks her down with a backhanded fist.

"Daisy!" shouts an enraged Enos. He comes at Kwan with his nightstick, fully intent on causing some serious damage. He swings wildly at the Chinese biker, but constantly hits nothing but air. Then Kwan reaches behind his back to the waistband of his jeans and pulls out a set of nunchuks. He and Enos face off against each other, Kwan whirling the nunchuks around on their nylon cord while Enos twirls his nightstick about like a baton. Then the two go at it once again. This time Kwan uses the cord of his nunchuks to entangle Enos's nightstick, and then wrenches the weapon away from the deputy. A swift kick to the gut doubles Enos over, and then a shot to the back of the head with the nunchuks knocks him out cold. Kwan turns around to find new opponents to fight, and gets Max Keller's boot right into his chest with a flying jump kick of his own. Kwan falls to his back, but goes into a backwards somersault and comes back up to his feet, his nunchuks at the ready.

But Max has some martial arts weapons of his own. When he saw how skilled Kwan was in kung fu, and with nunchuks, Max went into The Master's case and grabbed his own equalizer. A pair of short wooden sticks, about two feet long, and about as thick and as durable as the wood used to make nunchuks. Often referred to as Filipino Sticks, in Japanese these weapons are called Hanbo Sticks, or just simply Hanbo. Max goes into a few practice routines to warm up his wrists, to which Kwan smiles and nods.

"Ah," says the Barbarian, "A challenge."

Max and Kwan go right at each other, Hanbo against nunchuks. They duck and parry each other's weapons. They dodge and parry each other's kicks and punches. When one of them manages to land a blow on the other, then the other quickly retaliates. If any of the combatants on either side of this fight were to stop and watch these two going at it, they might think that they had stepped into a Bruce Lee movie or something. The action between them is just that intense. Kwan finally manages to entangle one of Max's Hanbo Sticks with his nunchuks, in much the same way he had disarmed Enos just moments earlier. Max jabs his other Hanbo into Kwan's ribs, but the Chinaman manages to fight through the pain, sweep Max's legs out from under him, and rip the entangled weapon from the ninja student's grasp in seemingly one swift movement. Max nips up to his feet, but is met with a nunchuk shot right between the eyes. Max goes down and is out of the fight. Kwan raises his nunchuks to put him down permanently, but a steel like grip grasps his wrist, twists his arm behind his back, disarms him, and then throws him to the ground. Kwan rolls to his feet and turns to find himself facing his opponent's teacher, the ninja master John Peter McAllister. The Master casually tosses Kwan's nunchuks aside.

"Come on, old man," says the biker, "Let's see how good you really are."

McAllister gives Kwan the slightest of smiles, and then assumes a ready stance. Kwan shouts out a kiai and attacks the master with a flurry of kicks and punches. The Master blocks, ducks, parries, and dodges each attack with ease, and counters them with his own. Kwan in turn ducks, dodges, and blocks all of McAllister's attacks. McAllister finally slips through Kwan's defenses, striking him in the jaw with a thrust kick. Kwan rolls with the blow, diving into a forward shoulder roll and then hand springs to his feet. McAllister keeps pace with him and hits him again, this time with a spinning heel kick. Kwan staggers back and falls over one of the motorcycles. When the Chinaman regains his feet, however, The Master realizes that he had been duped. Kwan had deliberately taken those hits to give himself an excuse to maneuver himself over to where his bike was so that he could retrieve what he holds now, a razor sharp jian sword. He leaps at The Master, thrusting the tip of the double edged blade at McAllister's heart. The aging ninja throws himself backwards, doing a handspring out of the weapon's reach, and then leaps up into a backwards somersault to get further from the deadly blade. Kwan continues to pursue the older man, shouting his kiai, whirling and slashing with seeming reckless abandon. One such slash nearly catches The Master across the chest, cutting through his black turtleneck sweater.

Then Kwan stops his slashing attacks and attempts to run the ninja master through. Again McAllister just barely avoids certain death by throwing himself back. But this time he places a foot in Kwan's abdomen and launches the Chinaman over him and into the dirt. When Kwan recovers his footing and turns to face his adversary, he finds that he had fallen for his own ruse. Standing there across from him is The Master, this time wielding his ninjato sword. McAllister had maneuvered Kwan over to his case full of ninja weapons, where he could even the odds once more. The two martial arts masters clash once again, this time with steel against steel. The blades ring out constantly as every strike and thrust is parried and countered. Finally McAllister manages to sweep one of Kwan's sword thrusts aside with his ninjato, and then thrust his blade into the Chinaman's heart. Kwan's eyes widen in shock as he feels the cold steel pierce his chest. The hilt of his jian sword slips from his fingers as his hands no longer have the strength to grasp the weapon. The younger swordsman looks upon the man who had defeated him with respect. He then gives a subtle nod of his head. The Master pulls the blade of his ninjato from his opponent's chest, letting the man fall to his knees. He then raises the sword and brings it down upon Kwan's head, splitting the Chinaman's skull down the middle as though it were an artichoke.

Elsewhere in the camp, B.A. and Ogre are still trading punches. But while before they were going at it like a couple of mad dogs trying to tear each other's throats out, now they're both on their knees taking turns punching each other in the face. It's like they're daring each other to knock one another out, but are both too damn stubborn to fall. The Master, John Peter McAllister finally decides to put an end to it. He walks up to Ogre, and then chops him on the top of the skull with the edge of his hand. Ogre stops punching B.A., looks up at the ninja master, and then collapses into unconsciousness. B.A. looks up at McAllister as well, acts as though he's about to say something, and then also he falls unconscious. McAllister goes over to where Ogre had thrown Hannibal and helps his old war buddy back up onto his feet. They look around the camp. The biker gang was completely beaten. Of course, their own side had taken a heavy beating as well. In fact, the only ones left still standing were McAllister, Murdock, Jody Banks, Amy Allen, Daisy Duke, and Charlie's Angels. Leaning heavily on McAllister for support, Hannibal takes his chewed up cigar out of his pocket. Unfortunately the thing had been completely mangled during the fight and couldn't be smoked even if Smith wanted to. The colonel tosses the useless smoke away and smiles at his friend.

"I love it . . ." he says, "When a plan comes together." And then he passes out in his friend's arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The convoy of mismatched cars and trucks are once again driving down the old country dirt road. Fearing that the roar of the motorcycle engines and the sounds of the fight might have alerted any nearby walkers of their location, those who were able to get up and drive fled the area. Of course, not before stripping The Barbarians of everything they had of value. The members of the group didn't like the idea of stealing from other survivors. They would all prefer to barter with other groups for what they need. But The Barbarians had said that they were planning on robbing them, raping their women, and then kill them all, and not necessarily in that order. And to the victors go the spoils, so they picked them clean. None of the bikers had any firearms or ammunition on them. They did have an abundance of bladed and bludgeoning weapons though. Crow bars, tire irons, baseball bats, steel chains were all there for the taking. There were also a few hatchets and machetes, although whether they were used for chopping wood, killing walkers, or committing murder was anyone's guess. Pretty much all of them carried a hunting knife or a survival knife. And more than one of them had a set of brass knuckles. They had little by way of food and water, but what they did have was taken. Any blankets or tents were also taken, even though they already had plenty. About the only thing that The Barbarians did have that was of any real value was the gasoline in their motorcycles gas tanks. McAllister and the others syphoned off practically every last drop out of those hogs. If the bikers could get a mile down the road on what they had left it would be a miracle.

The line of cars and trucks travel through the night and right through the next day until they are as far away from where the fight took place as they could possibly get. They find a defensible spot on the side of the road, right next to a crystal clear stream. As this was a source of fresh water and walkers can't navigate through deep water, this seemed the perfect place to rest. Daisy, Jody, Amy, Sabrina, Jill, and Kelly take it upon themselves to administer First Aid to their injured friends. Mostly they put cold compresses onto the swollen bruises from where the men had been hit. The one who has it the worst is B.A. His lips have swollen to nearly twice their usual size. He can't even open his eyes. His cheeks are all puffed up, as though he had just come from the dentist and has a mouth full of cotton. Daisy takes it upon herself to nurse the big black man back to health. She knows that he's not fond of the Confederate Flag painted on top of The General Lee, and hopes that continued acts of kindness will help to stop him from thinking of her and her family as racists.

John Peter McAllister takes off his black turtleneck sweater to reveal a long cut across his chest from where Kwan had narrowly missed gutting him with his Jian Sword. It's only been a day, but the wound already looks enflamed. Jody Banks quickly goes into the Angels' RV and retrieves a sewing kit, and then borrows a canning jar of clear liquid from the Dukes. She then brings them over to McAllister and starts administering to his wound.

"You don't have to do that," he tells her, "I'll be fine. I have had plenty worse."

"Hey!" she says, "Don't give me that! Who knows where that sword has been? What if he used it to kill walkers? What if he didn't clean it afterwards? You could be infected right now, same as if you were bitten!"

"No warrior would allow his blade to be contaminated so."

"A warrior might not," agrees Jody, "But what about an outlaw?"

"Very well," agrees The Master, "If you wish to play doctor, then who am I to argue."

"Don't get your hopes up," she says with a smile, "I'm _not _taking off my top for you."

Jody quickly threads a needle and then places it inside a coffee mug before opening up the jar and pouring the liquid, The Dukes' Uncle Jesse's famous home-made whisky, into the mug as well. She then takes out a clean cloth, soaks it in the moonshine and then begins cleaning McAllister's wound with it. Once the wound is as clean as she can get it, she takes out the alcohol soaked needle and thread and is about to begin stitching the wound closed.

"I'm sorry that we don't have any kind of anesthetic," she apologizes, "I'm afraid that this is gonna hurt."

"Pain is simply a state of mind, like fear," says The Master, "Just as a firefighter can set aside his fear to run into a burning building, so too can a ninja set aside his pain to complete the task at hand."

"Okay," says Jody with a shrug, and she sticks the sewing needle through McAllister's flesh. The moment she does so, the old ninja sucks a breath of air in through his clenched teeth. "What happened to a ninja setting aside his pain to finish the task at hand?"

"I lied," replies the ninja master, "But it sounded good though, didn't it?"

Jody just chuckles at the old man and continues to stitch him up. Once she's done she wipes the wound down with more alcohol. John Peter McAllister quickly admires her handy work.

"You're pretty good at that," he says.

"You'd be surprised what skills you find useful as a Hollywood stunt person," she replies as she wraps his chest in a gauze bandage.

"I bet," laughs the old man.

Soon the group of survivors continue on their way. Despite B.A.'s protests, he is sent to travel with The Angels in their RV. Out of all of them, the big guy was the one who was hurt the worst during that whole brawl. And as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he needs actual bed rest more than any of them. So Hannibal orders him to ride in the RV, where he can lay down in an actual bed and heal. The convoy continues on, following the back roads westward towards the Pacific. As predicted, the smaller, less travelled roads were virtually free of obstructions, and encounters with walkers were few and far between. And it was never with a horde as large as the one that was attacking the group the night when Hannibal and The A-Team came to their rescue. The vehicles mostly just drove right past them without even stopping.

Eventually they reach the town of Lobster Cove. As predicted, taking the back roads ended up tripling the time it took to get there, and they were getting to be dangerously low on food and gas. But with the exception of their fight with The Barbarians motorcycle gang, their journey had been relatively uneventful. The extra time also gave B.A.'s body a chance to heal. He's able to see again, and can once again drive his van (much to his relief). With an air of caution, the weary group of survivors drive through the abandoned small town streets until they reach the harbour. Then they get out and arm themselves, just in case, and head towards the private dock where the Mayers, a family of lobster fishermen that The A-Team had helped a few years ago, kept their boat. When they get there, they find that the docks are virtually deserted. However the Mayers' lobster boat is tied up at the dock. Hannibal reaches over the gate to the dock in order to lift the latch holding it shut, when the spear from a spear gun flies out from the boat and pins the sleeve of his jacket to the gate.

"That was a warning!" shouts a female voice from the boat, "The next one goes right between your eyes! Now get the hell away from my boat!"

"Shana?" calls Face Man, "Shana Mayer? Is that you?"

"Who the hell wants to know?" a man's voice calls back.

"It's Templeton Peck!" Face shouts back, "From The A-Team! We helped you and your dad against that big creep Garver a few years back! Remember? Is that you Doug?"

"Face?" Shana calls back.

"Yeah!" replies Face Man.

"Who's that with you?" asks Doug.

"It's the five of us!" calls Face, "Me, Hannibal, Murdock, Amy, and B.A.!"

"And who else?"

"Some friends of ours! They're okay! We just needed a little help! Figured we'd ask you guys! For old times' sake!"

"Well, okay!" shouts Doug, "But no funny business! If I even smell things ain't right, I'll put a spear right between your eyes!"

"Kid!" shouts Hannibal as he finally pulls the spear out of the sleeve of his jacket, "We got you out numbered, out classed, and out gunned. Trust me, if we wanted to take your boat by force, there ain't nothing you would be able to do to stop us."

The colonel then undoes the latch on the gate and opens it up, leading his team onto the dock. Shana and Doug step out from hiding, both armed with loaded spear guns. They both look as though they could use a bath, and Doug's face hasn't touched the blade of a razor in at least a couple of months. But other than that they both appear to be in pretty good health.

"Where's your dad?" asks Hannibal, "We never got the chance to formally introduce ourselves after we chased off Garver."

Both Shana's and Doug's faces fall at the mention of their father. "He's gone," says Shana, "He was bit by one of those things. It happened early in the outbreak, before we really knew what it means when you get bit. He died. Then he came back, and came after us. Doug managed to throw him overboard."

"I'm sorry," says Face.

"Yeah," agrees Max, "That's just awful."

"Yeah, well," sighs Shana, "We've been living out at sea ever since. We just come to shore every once in a while to scavenge for supplies. For the most part though we live off whatever the sea provides."

"That's smart," says McAllister, "If maybe a bit risky. What happens if a storm hits? Or if you run out of fuel?"

"Better than being eaten alive," replies Doug, "What do you guys need from us anyway?"

"A ride," says Hannibal, "To Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay."

"What?" exclaims Doug, "Are you out of your mind? First of all, there's no way we can fit all of you on our one little fishing boat. Second, even if we were to take multiple trips to take you there, how the heck are you planning to survive on Alcatraz? It's just a run-down old prison for cryin' out loud!"

"True," agrees Hannibal, "But it was also a prison that was virtually escape proof. If it's that hard to break out, it must be nearly equally difficult to break in. Which is what makes it perfect for keeping us safe from both walkers and scavengers alike. Also fruit trees grow on the island, and seagulls are known to nest there. That's two potential sources of food right there. If you two join us, and bring your lobster traps, that'll be three food sources. The building itself is secure, and comes equipped with hundreds of beds. It's damn near perfect."

"Those fruit trees and seagulls aren't gonna keep you and your people fed for very long."

"Also true. Which is why we're planning on bringing building supplies with us."

"Building supplies?"

"We're planning on building a great big greenhouse. We're gonna load up on fruit and vegetable seeds, berry bushes, baby fruit trees, anything we can get our hands on. We're gonna have a vegetable garden that will produce food all year round. We just need to find the stuff, and then get it there."

"That actually sounds like a pretty smart plan, Doug," says Shana.

"All right, we're in," agrees Doug, "You guys hungry?"

"Starved," says Max.

"Then come on aboard. Shana and I just hauled in a fresh load of lobsters. The others might be a little miffed that we gave away today's catch. But I think they'll want in on this plan of yours."

"Others?" says Luke, "What others?"

"We weren't totally honest with you guys about how we've been surviving. I mean, we have been living out at sea, but so have just about everyone else in Lobster Cove who hasn't been killed by this pandemic."

"How many of you are there?" asks Colt.

"There are about six boats from here in Lobster Cove. We've hooked up with a shrimpin' boat, a commercial tuna boat, and a Japanese whaler."

"A Japanese whaler?" says Jill Munroe.

"Hey, when you're starving hungry, a big piece of whale meat is a God send," replies Shana, "Besides, in this day and age, _we're _the endangered species."

"I guess so," agrees the former LAPD police officer.

"How many people are in your group?" asks McAllister.

"The lobster boats are each being manned by the families who owned them. Most of them are husband and wife teams. Some of them have one or two kids on board. About twenty locals in total."

"And the others?"

"The shrimp boat has a small four man crew. The tuna boat is bigger, about six men plus their captain. Then there are a dozen men working the Japanese whaler. That makes our entire crew about forty in total."

"Forty two, actually," says Face.

"Good," says Hannibal, "Get on the radio and call them in. We're gonna need as many extra hands as we can get to make this work."

"I don't know, Hannibal," says Murdock, "That's an awful lot of people. That makes us a bigger target for the walkers, not to mention other scavengers. And that's an awful lot of extra mouths to feed during the lean times. And right now things are pretty lean."

"Captain," replies Hannibal, "We have a lot of people to move to the island, and a lot of supplies that we're gonna have to scrounge up and take with us. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Okay," says Shana, "Doug, get on the radio and call the others. Tell them what we're planning. I'm gonna put on a pot of water. We're celebrating over a lobster dinner tonight!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Just as Hannibal and his band of survivors are finishing off their lobster lunch, the rest of the fleet of fishing vessels comes in to port. They all dock alongside one another, tying their hulls together rather than spreading out onto other private docks. This makes stealing another's vessel far more difficult, especially if it's sandwiched between two or more boats. The plan is explained to the other group, and although there was some grumbling in the beginning, they agree to help The A-Team and their friends in building a fortified new home on Alcatraz Island.

"Alright," says Hannibal, now fully in his leadership mode, "Daisy, seeing how you and your cousins were raised on a farm, I need you all to go to the local nursery."

"Uh, Hannibal," says Murdock, "Do you really think that now is the best time to be thinking about babies?"

"Not a baby nursery, you crazy fool!" says B.A., "A plant nursery!"

Ignoring Murdock's remark and B.A.'s bickering, Hannibal just continues with his instructions, "Grab every bag of soil, fertilizer, and seeds you can get your hands on. Forget about the flower seeds, just the fruits and vegetables. If they have any seedlings of berry bushes, or saplings of fruit trees, grab those too. Even if they look dead. You never know, we just might be able to bring them back to life."

"Right," says Enos, "People are already coming back from the dead and trying to eat us. Why not plants too?"

"Enos, don't even joke about that!" says Daisy. Then she, Bo, Luke, and Enos all head off to do as they were asked.

"Amy," says Hannibal, "I need you and the three lady detectives here to go to the local department store and grab anything you can find that we can use. Especially bedding and new clothes. With all the work Alcatraz is going to take in order to make it liveable, we're probably going to need a few fresh changes of clothes."

"Hannibal, don't I usually get that detail?" asks Face.

"Face," says Amy, "If we were to send you to find us new clothes to wear, all us ladies will have to choose from would be skimpy bikinis and trashy lingerie."

"Amy!" gasps Face Man, "I'm shocked. Do you really think I would do something so shallow?"

Amy, Hannibal, Murdock, and B.A. all turn and look at one another. Then they all turn and look at Face and say collectively in a unified voice, "Yes!"

Amy, Jill, Sabrina, and Kelly all laugh as they head off to the RV and go clothes shopping for the group. As they're leaving, Hannibal turns to Face. "I need you to head over to the sheriff's office, Lieutenant," he says.

"You won't find much there," says Doug, "The armory has pretty much been cleaned out. You'll be lucky to find a few rounds of ammo left."

"Thanks," says Hannibal, "But that's not what I'm sending him there for. Face, I need you to take some of these civilians and gut the police dispatch radio. See if they have any walkie-talkies left as well. And if there are any police cruisers left behind, rip the radios out of them."

"What do you need the police radio for?" asks Doug.

"Once we're set up, we're going to need more people to make the island into an actual community," replies the colonel, "That means making contact. We're going to need a powerful radio to contact them with."

"Alright," says Doug, "I'll show you where everything is." Then he chooses some of his fellow fishermen to join him and Face Man as they head over to the sheriff's office.

"Murdock, I need you to grab some men and head over to the hardware store. Grab anything you can find that might be useful. Gardening tools, hammers, saws, nails, screws, screwdrivers, extension cords, anything."

"Right Colonel!" says the crazy pilot. He snaps a quick salute, then rounds up some fishermen and heads off to do as he's told.

"B.A.," says the colonel, "I need you to head over to the lumberyard. Grab whatever materials you think you'll need to build a greenhouse. A really large greenhouse."

"Right Hannibal!" says the big man. He quickly picks out a crew of fishermen and they head off to gather what they need.

"Seavers," says the colonel, "I need you and Jody to scrounge up as many car batteries as you can find. Check garages, car dealerships, anywhere."

"Car batteries?" says Colt, a little confused.

"I have a feeling that there won't be any electricity on the island," explains Hannibal, "We're gonna have to power that radio somehow."

"Right," replies Colt, now understanding.

"And don't worry too much if the batteries happen to be dead. A little acid can do wonders in creating a spark."

"So what about the rest of us, Johnny?" asks McAllister.

"The rest of us are to go through everything else and pick this town clean," replies Hannibal.

"That's kinda already been done, Hannibal," Shana tells him.

"There's always something that someone missed," Hannibal tells her, "A bottle of Aspirin in someone's medicine cabinet. A box of dog biscuits underneath someone's sink. When you looted the grocery stores and the pharmacy, you probably left the vinegar and the drain cleaner behind."

"Vinegar and drain cleaner?"

"If you mix the two together in the correct proportions, you'll get an acidic compound which could get a car battery started." *

"Alright then," she agrees, "We search through the town and take everything that isn't nailed down."

It takes the now much larger group most of the day to get everything that they needed, and even a few things that they didn't. B.A. managed to find enough lumber and Plexiglas to build a pretty massive greenhouse. Enos, Daisy, and her cousins had cleared out the local nursery of every plant, seed, and gardening implement that they could find. Barbeque sets, propane tanks, bags of charcoal, are all being loaded up onto the boats. They even loaded aluminum beer kegs onto the boats. Once everything is loaded, the two united groups start to board the boats. B.A. comes up to Hannibal.

"I don't wanna leave my van, Hannibal," says the big man.

"I'm sorry, B.A.," replies the colonel, "but we can't take the van with us. These are fishing boats, not ferries."

"I know that!" says the B.A., "I just don't like the idea of some fool making off with my ride if I leave it behind!"

"I understand, Sergeant," says Hannibal as he lays a consoling hand on B.A.'s shoulder, "That van is more than just a means of transportation. It's a member of the team. It's our home away from home."

"Hey B.A.?" says Doug, "I think I know how you can keep your van safe while you're away."

"How?" asks the angry black man.

"Come with me. I'll show you."

Doug and B.A. get into the van and drive into town. Doug guides B.A. to the local public storage facility. They manage to find a storage locker that's actually large enough to park a van inside. B.A. backs his van into the storage locker. Then he grabs the jack and jacks the van up and sets it on a set of cinderblocks. He removes the wheels, the C.B. radio, the car phone, the battery, and several other engine parts like the radiator hose and distributer cap, and packs them all in a box. Then he and Doug lock up the storage locker and bring everything that they had removed from the van with them back to the boat. When Hannibal sees B.A. and Doug returning with a box full of engine parts and four wheels, he asks B.A. about it.

"If the van don't work, folks'll be less likely to steal it," says the big man.

"Good idea, B.A.," says Luke Duke, who had overheard the conversation, "Colonel, can Bo and I hide the General Lee too? We can also strip him of anything that'll make him run, or that we can use when we get to Alcatraz."

"Okay," says Hannibal, "Let's do that with all of the vehicles. The more stuff we bring with us now, the less we'll have to scrounge for later."

So B.A. joins Max and The Master in Max's van, to show them the way to the storage facility. They are followed by Bo, Luke, and Daisy in The General Lee, and Colt Seavers and Jody Banks in Colt's pick up. The Angels follow along in their RV, and Enos, joined by Murdock and Face Man in his cruiser brings up the rear. Soon they all return, carrying car batteries and other engine parts, and rolling the wheels of their vehicles along. They had even syphoned all of the gas out of their gas tanks, just for good measure (and to fuel the fishing boats all the way to Alcatraz).Now that all of their vehicles have been stripped of everything useful, as well as being immobilized and locked away, the small fleet of fishing vessels takes off towards San Francisco.

Along the way they come across several other small fishing towns. Shana informs Hannibal that they had already been practically picked clean, if not by her group then by other scavengers. But Hannibal insists on checking them out anyway. They manage to find more seeds, saplings, soil and fertilizer at the nurseries. They also scavenge several beer kegs from the local pubs, extra lobster traps, copper tubing, more barbeque stuff, etc. Most of the canned and dried food had been taken by others long ago though. Eventually, they arrive at a small town just up the coast from San Francisco.

"There should still be plenty of supplies there," Shana tells Hannibal as she points to the town harbour, "Nobody's been able to get to their hospital or shopping centre."

"Why not?" asks the colonel.

"They're completely over run by biters," she replies, "Their parking lots were fenced in by the army early during the outbreak. Somehow a biter, or a bunch of them, got in through the gates. Anyone not torn apart and eaten was turned. Now they just stand around in the parking lot because they can't get back out through the gates."

"And nobody has tried to get to the hospital or the shopping centre since?"

"Not that I know of. At least, no one who's tried and lived to come back out."

"What kind of stores are in that shopping centre?"

"Just about everything. There's a grocery store, a pharmacy, a kitchen wares store, clothing boutique, book store, an electronics store. There's even a hunt and tackle shop."

"Hunt and tackle?"

"Yeah. You know. Hunting and fishing equipment."

"Hunting equipment? As in rifles and ammunition?"

"As well as bows, crossbows, arrows, slingshots, hunting knives, hatchets, machetes. Anything you might need to go hunting and fishing."

"Well then," says Hannibal with a smile on his face, "I think it's high time someone actually made it in there. Don't you?"

"Do you have a plan, Hannibal?" Shana asks him.

"Always," he replies.

When he had done inventory of Doug and Shana's boat, Hannibal had noticed that they had a couple of boxes of dynamite stowed away. Doug says that he had liberated them from a demolitions company shortly after the outbreak got really bad. He was holding onto them for emergencies. He agreed to let Hannibal and his team use them to clear away the walkers that were blocking the path into the shopping centre and hospital. B.A. had scavenged several lengths of plastic pipes for plumbing. Hannibal took some pieces and cut them into lengths a little longer than the sticks of dynamite. He fastens a cap on one end, and then pours in some steel ball bearings. Then Hannibal puts a stick of dynamite into the pipe, and pours steel ball bearings in around the sides of the explosive. Then slipping the fuse through a hole in the cap, he fastens the cap into place. The team makes several more of these pipe bombs, using ball bearings, nuts and bolts, whatever they can find to fill in the pipes. Then they start taping the pipe bombs onto Bo and Luke's arrows.

Hannibal, McAllister, and their group of survivors head to the harbour in the Mayers' fishing boat. Once the boat is docked, they all disembark onto the land. Doug and Shana, who had visited this town many times before the outbreak, lead the others to a moving company with many large trucks, designed for hauling entire households of furniture. B.A. manages to hotwire one of the trucks, while Hannibal and the others climb into the back. All except for John Peter McAllister, and Bo and Luke Duke. Those three climb up on top of the truck with their bows, and with several arrows that have pipe bombs duct taped to them. B.A. drives the truck to the opposite side of the street from the shared parking lot of the shopping centre and the hospital. Then the three archers on top of the truck light the fuses to their bombs and fire them into the parking lot. They strategically launch the arrows so that they land in three spots far from one another, yet still far enough away from the fence so as to not blow a hole in it. Seconds later the three sticks of dynamite explode. The nuts, bolts, ball bearings, and other assorted bits of metal put into the pipe bombs turned them into primitive claymore mines. Shrapnel flies out in every direction, tearing through the rotting flesh of the walking dead. More than a few of these pieces of shrapnel tore through the skulls of the walkers, destroying their brains and putting them down for good. Others had their bodies so badly damaged that they can no longer stand, and lay helpless on the ground. More arrows are fired into the parking lot, and more explosions cut down the walkers trapped there.

Once the last of the exploding arrows has been used, McAllister bangs on the roof of the truck's cab, signalling B.A. to put the vehicle in reverse. The big man fires up the truck and drives it right through the locked gates to the parking lot. Whatever walkers that were not killed by the explosions, and were still walking around, are soon crushed under the rear wheels of the huge moving truck. B.A. brings the truck to a stop just outside the shopping centre. Once the vehicle has stopped, Bo, Luke, and The Master start firing arrow after arrow into the heads of the walkers. At almost that exact same time, Hannibal Smith opens the rear doors of the large moving truck. He, Face, and Murdock open fire with their Mini Rugers, taking out as many as they can before exiting the truck to cover their flanks as the others in the truck also make their exit.

The shrapnel from the pipe bombs had decimated most of the walkers in the parking lot, so the combined skills of The A-Team and their companions made very short work of what was left of them. Unfortunately the shrapnel had also severely weakened the glass doors of the shopping centre. Just as they were finishing off the last of the walkers in the parking lot, the glass doors of the shopping centre burst outward and a line of walkers comes shuffling out of the doors. The team open fires on them as they come out of the building, but it seems like for every walker that goes down, two more seem to take its place. Pretty soon the automatic rifles and the shotguns that they had all brought with them were out of bullets, and they had to resort to their handguns. Bo, Luke, and McAllister soon run out of arrows, so they get down off of the truck to join their friends. Bo and Luke each have a buck knife that they carry at all times, and McAllister has his ninjato sword. It doesn't take long before everyone's side arms are out of bullets also. Now the entire team resorts to hand to hand combat to dispatch the walkers. Knives, tire irons, crow bars, claw hammers, all are being used to put the things down. Luckily, they had managed to get the majority of them with their ranged weapons. By the time they got to melee, the walkers no longer had an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Just as the survivors were about to regroup, however, more walkers come bursting out of the hospital doors. Thinking quickly, B.A. jumps into the moving truck, fires it up, and then drives towards the hospital's main entrance. He swerves the truck to the right, then turns again and drives straight for the side of the building, and then swerves to the left at the last minute, driving along the front of the hospital and stopping the truck right in front of the main entrance, blocking it and keeping the walkers trapped inside for the time being. Thanks to B.A.'s quick thinking, the walkers that had escaped the hospital don't outnumber the survivors who were waiting for them in the parking lot. They quickly fall under the blades and blunt weapons wielded by the living. And now that they have a moment to spare, they take inventory of what had been left behind.

As Shana and Doug had told them, the hospital and shopping centre were under military guard. As such, many of the walkers who had been stuck here were wearing military fatigues. They also had guns and ammunition on them. The bodies were stripped of anything that could be of use. Guns, knives, ammunition, grenades, etc. Many of the dead soldiers have extra magazines for AR-15 automatic rifles. They also found a 50 caliber machine gun mounted on a tripod set behind a wall of sandbags, with a couple of boxes of ammunition for it. They move the heavy gun over to be in the line of fire of the hospital entrance, and then load it with an ammo belt. B.A. climbs into the cab of the moving truck, and Hannibal climbs up onto the hood. He pulls the pins on a couple of grenades and tosses them into the hospital door, just as B.A. hits the accelerator and gets the truck going. Seconds later, two quick explosions blast a hole in the ranks of walkers. As the truck pulls away, it takes a moment for the walkers to start exiting the door. Now Face Man opens up with the 50 caliber, blasting apart the walkers' heads as though they were over ripe melons. Murdock is right next to the lieutenant, feeding the ammo belt into the gun as it blasts away. As the last inches of the nine yard ammo belt disappear into the machine gun, the line of walkers ceases to come out of the hospital. And as the smoke clears, all is silent.

Hannibal walks over to Face and Murdock, and he smiles at the carnage left by their efforts. "Nice work, fellas," he says. Then he sends Doug and Shana back to the boat to radio the rest of the fleet and get them to come help load up the truck. Then he sends B.A., Murdock, and Face over to the moving company to hotwire some more trucks and bring them over to the parking lot. Everyone else goes into the two buildings and begins hunting for supplies.

McAllister, Max, Colt, and Jody all go into the hospital to grab any antibiotics, bandages, tranquilizers, and anything else that they might need. Everyone else heads into the shopping centre. One of the first things Hannibal sees is a smoke shop. Without hesitation, he hops the counter and starts pulling out boxes of cigars. He opens up a box, takes out a cigar, bites off the tip, lights it up, and begins to puff away. "Ahhhh!" he sighs, "It has been far too long since I've been able to do that."

Bo and Luke head straight to the hunt and tackle shop, with Daisy and Enos right behind them. They start packing up the bows, crossbows, and arrows, while Enos and Daisy start gathering up the rifles, shotguns, handguns, and ammunition. Hannibal shows up a moment later, pushing a line of shopping carts to the shop. The lot of them begin to load all of the hunting, fishing, and camping supplies that they can fit into the carts.

Amy and the Angels all go straight for the grocery store. Like Hannibal, they grab a bunch of shopping carts and begin loading them up with canned goods, dried foods, crackers, cereals, rice, whatever else they can get their hands on. Amy goes straight to the aisle with the skim milk powder and canned condensed milk. She knows how much B.A. loves his milk, and if they don't strip this store clean of every bit of powdered and canned milk, he would be very, very cranky. And although she knows that beneath his gruff and surly exterior, B.A. has a kind and gentle heart, he also has a short temper and a bad attitude. Over the years she has found that it's best not to provoke that side of him.

Soon B.A., Face, and Murdock are all driving up in three more trucks, with Doug and Shana joining them in a fourth. And not far behind them is the rest of their group, all coming on foot. With so many people working together, the two buildings are soon stripped of most of anything of value. There was a gardening store with plenty of vegetable seeds. There was a hardware store with plenty of axes, hammers, shovels, and other tools. There's also a kitchen wares store, with pots, pans, kitchen knives, cutlery, and dishes. Murdock pushes a shopping cart full of baseball bats which he had liberated from the sporting goods store. No one paid it much attention, as baseball bats make good weapons for defending yourself against walkers. Then he brings out a shopping cart full of hockey sticks, not as heavy as baseball bats but still useful in bludgeoning walkers. Finally he comes out with a shopping cart full of baseballs, basketballs, footballs, tennis balls, and badminton sets. Now B.A. steps in front of him.

"Whatcha doing you crazy fool? We're only supposed to be stocking up on the essentials!"

"These are essentials, you big angry mud sucker," says Murdock with a crazy grin.

"What's going on B.A.?" asks Hannibal.

"Hannibal, this crazy fool is tryin' to say that sporting goods are essential survival tools!"

"Once the greenhouse is built and the seeds are planted, we're going to need to be able to entertain ourselves," says the chopper pilot, "A game of baseball, or basketball, or football, not only would provide us with ours of entertainment, but also provide us with plenty of fresh air and exercise as well."

"That's very sound reasoning, Captain," agrees Hannibal, "B.A., why don't you go and see if there are any other sporting goods which could provide us with some entertainment and exercise."

B.A. growls but goes and does as he's told. He picks up some tennis rackets, and a couple of croquet sets. He also grabs some hand grips, exercise bars, and jump ropes. He had to admit that Murdock did have a point about keeping the group entertained, and keeping in shape both being very important. As he is leaving with the sporting goods, he sees Murdock pushing a shopping cart out of the toy store. This time it's filled with board games. B.A. growls and storms over to the smaller man.

"Now whatcha doin' sucka?"

"If the weather is lousy and we can't play outside, at least we can stay entertained while we're indoors."

"Hannibal!"

"What?" asks the colonel in an exasperated tone.

"Now this crazy fool is tryin' to pack up a bunch of kids games!"

"Kids games?" says Murdock, "I've got Risk, Axis &amp; Allies, Battleship, Stratego, Chess, Checkers, Monopoly, Clue, several decks of playing cards, a couple of sets of poker chips, a couple of cribbage boards . . . It's just as important to exercise our minds as it is to exercise our bodies."

"He has a point, B.A.," says Hannibal, "Besides, these games won't take up too much space. We can afford to have a few luxury items on board."

Eventually the trucks are all filled to the brim with supplies. The grocery store and pharmacy had been stripped of virtually everything usable. All of the flour, vegetable oil, and yeast had been taken, as well as every bottle of distilled water for the water coolers. Every can of processed meat, fruits, and vegetables was also taken. Every bottle of vitamin tablets. Every form of antibiotics, tranquilizers, and pain killers is also loaded on the trucks. Anyone who tries to loot this place after they leave will be lucky to find a single candy bar left behind. The hospital was similarly stripped. Scalpels, clamps, sutures, bandages, antiseptics, iodine, rubbing alcohol, rubber gloves, and as much medication as could be found. In short, once they get the prison infirmary set up, it will be even better stocked than it was when Alcatraz was still an active prison.

The trucks are then driven to the docks, where a handful of fishermen are waiting for them. The supplies are unloaded onto the boats. As these are fishing boats and not cargo ships, fitting all of the supplies in the vessels is a very tight squeeze. In fact, it makes it so that there is very little room for any people aboard the vessels. The boats with the largest cargo holds are the Japanese whaler, and the commercial tuna boat. The shrimp boat also has a fair sized cargo hold in comparison to the lobster boats, but still much smaller than the two larger commercial boats. Still, they manage to get all of the scavenged food and supplies onto the fleet without having to leave a single member of their group behind. Then the fleet sets off once more to San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz Island, and not a moment too soon. For shortly after the last of the fishing boats casts off from the docks, a horde of walkers comes shambling down to the marina. Apparently there were several walkers within earshot of the firefight. Luckily they were too far away to reach the group of survivors before they could finish loading the trucks. Now all they can do is stand by the water's edge and moan helplessly as the boats full of people move out of sight.

**Author's Note:**

*I don't know if mixing vinegar and drain cleaner together will make a strong enough acid to get a chemical reaction from a lead-acid battery. I had heard somewhere that vinegar is acidic enough to get a small electrical charge from a lead-acid battery (I believe that was on an episode of MacGuyver). And I know for a fact that drain cleaner is very highly acidic (that's how it cleans your drains, it dissolves the clogs with acid). So it makes sense to me that mixing the two and pouring it into a car battery would get the battery working again, assuming that there's still lead inside the battery to create the chemical reaction. Just don't blame me if you try it at home and it doesn't work. After all, this is just a story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The small fleet of fishing vessels heads towards San Francisco Bay. Now fully stocked with more supplies than these boats were designed to carry, they make their way towards Alcatraz Island quickly, if not comfortably. Just as the island comes to be within visual range, the tuna boat veers off course and starts heading out into the open water. Hannibal, who is riding with the Mayers, gets immediately onto the radio.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he asks, "The island's in sight! We'll be there in less than an hour!"

Colt Seavers, who is riding with the crew of the tuna boat, gets on the radio to respond. "We'll meet you there Colonel," he replies, "The captain says we picked up a school of tuna on sonar not too far from here. We're gonna go try and net 'em for dinner tonight."

"Roger that," says Hannibal, "You guys be careful not to go too far out to sea. I don't know how long our fuel is gonna last us."

"Copy that," replies Seavers, "We'll see you guys at Alcatraz. Over and out."

Hannibal places the radio receiver back onto the hook and watches as Doug Mayer guides the lobster boat towards Alcatraz Island. Soon it becomes evident that the island is already occupied. First, Hannibal spots a couple of boats tied at the island's dock. One is clearly a ferry for taking tourists from the mainland to the island and back again. The other appears to be a rich person's yacht. Then he notices movement in one of the guard towers. Apparently someone else had a very similar idea to Hannibal's. The colonel gets on the radio again and addresses the rest of the fleet. "Listen up folks," he says, "It looks like there are already people on the island. Now we don't know exactly what we might be walking into here, so tread lightly. Face. B.A. Better start passing out the party favors."

B.A. and Face start distributing rifles and ammunition out to everyone on the Mayers' lobster boat. On the other vessels, other members of their party are doing likewise. Hannibal gets on the radio and calls Colt Seavers and the others on the tuna boat.

"Seavers, this is Hannibal. Do you read me? Over."

"This is Jody Banks," comes the voice from the other end, "What do you need Hannibal?"

"Hey Jody," says the colonel, "Do you have a sit-rep?"

"Good news," she replies, "We're gonna be eating well tonight. We just netted us a whole school of tuna. Colt's on the deck right now helping to haul it in. Only problem is we're so loaded down with supplies from town that we have nowhere left to store them."

"Just head straight to Alcatraz Island," Hannibal tells her, "And be quick about it. We may need your help."

"Why?" she asks, "What's wrong?"

"Turns out we're not the first people to think that Alcatraz would be an ideal place to hold up. There are people there already."

"Friendly?"

"I don't know. But a boat load of fresh fish might help barter our way into the complex. And the extra men with guns could be useful in case we have to defend that boat load."

"Understood, Colonel," replies Jody, "We'll be there as soon as we can."

As the small fleet gets closer and closer to the island, they begin to see more and more movement in the former prison. Soon, the fishing boats pull up to the dock. Those that can tie off at the dock itself do so. The others all tie up to each other, allowing the crews to move easily from one boat to the next. The A-Team, the Dukes, The Master and his apprentice, and Charlie's Angels all disembark. Hannibal, Face, and Murdock are all carrying their Rugers. B.A. is armed with an M-60. Max Keller is given the fourth Ruger. Luke Duke, Enos, Jill Munroe and Sabrina Duncan are all carrying the AR-15's that The A-Team had with them. John Peter McAllister and Bo Duke are still armed with their bows and arrows. And Daisy Duke and Kelly Garrett are armed with pump action shotguns.

The group heads up the walkway towards the main gate while the Mayers and the rest of their band of survivors, all armed with hunting rifles and shotguns, stay with the boats. While walking towards the entrance of the fortress, a shot rings out and a bullet strikes the ground less than a foot away from Hannibal's toe. The whole group stops, pointing their weapons in all directions, when a small group of armed men jump up out of the bushes. There's an aging black man with graying hair and mustache wielding a pearl handled, nickel plated 9mm Beretta. Then there's also a somewhat younger white man with a similar weapon. Next to them is a gruff looking man, also white, armed with a pump action shotgun and a somewhat younger Latino also armed with a shotgun. Behind them are two very big, and very muscular, blonde haired men wearing Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirts, sandals, and are armed with 30-30 rifles. These two men wear their hair long and have thick beards, and are quite obviously twin brothers. The Latino is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and the other three are all dressed in military dress uniforms.

"That's far enough!" says the black man, "Who the hell are you people and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Colonel John Smith of the U.S. Special Forces," replies Hannibal, "Most people call me Hannibal. This is my second in command, Lieutenant Templeton Peck, and my platoon sergeant, B.A. Barracus. With us is our chopper pilot, Captain H.M. Murdock. We're The A-Team."

"The A-Team?" says the white guy with the shotgun in a slight southern drawl, "I heard about these guys back in 'Nam! They were supposed to be the best!"

"I heard of them too," says the black man, "Last I heard they were fugitives from the law. Robbed the Bank of Hanoi and then escaped a maximum security stockade before they could be court martialed."

"A misunderstanding," says Hannibal, "We were under orders to rob that bank. Unfortunately all records were lost in a mortar attack which killed our C.O."

"I heard that version too," says the black man.

"That ain't our version!" shouts B.A., "That's the truth, sucka!"

"You know who we are, friend," says Hannibal, "Now who are you?"

"The name's Brewster," says the black man, "Colonel Carl Brewster, United States Special Forces. This here is some of my SOG unit from 'Nam. Captain Myron Goldman, my former field lieutenant. This is Sergeant Major Zeke Anderson, his former platoon sergeant. Then there's former Specialist Alberto Ruiz. The two brothers behind us I didn't have the pleasure of serving with, but at least one of them was in the captain's platoon for a while. They're Scott and Karl Baker. And the one who fired the warning shot, up in the tower over there, is former Corporal Danny Percell."

"Colonel Brewster," says Hannibal, recognizing the name, "I've heard of you. You led that raid on an NVA prison camp."

"That's right," says Brewster, "Unfortunately the prisoners had all been moved before we got there. We weren't able to liberate any of our men."

"You're wrong," replies Hannibal, "My team and I were some of those prisoners. The reason we were moved was because their intelligence network had gotten wind of your operation. But in moving us to a new location, it gave my team and me the opportunity we needed to escape. We're alive right now because of your efforts. I thank you for that."

"So what are you and your group doing here Colonel?" asks Brewster.

"The same thing you are, I imagine," Hannibal says, "Looking for a safe place to try and wait out this plague. Maybe even rebuild."

"We don't want any trouble," says Brewster, "But we have families here. Women and children. And civilians who are relying on us to keep them safe."

"Hey sucka!" shouts B.A., "B.A. Barracus don't hurt no little kids!"

"We also don't have many supplies," says Brewster, ignoring the big man's outburst, "We can't afford to share with you."

"What if we were to share with you?" asks Hannibal.

"Excuse me?"

"What if we were to share what we have with you?"

"With all due respect," interrupts Captain Goldman, "I don't know if I trust these guys, Sir. I mean they robbed a bank!"

"Like I said, Captain, we were under orders," says Hannibal, "And regardless, we're all in the same boat now. We need to be able to pull together, despite our differences, if we want to survive."

"Fair enough," agrees Colonel Brewster, "So what resources do you plan on sharing with us?"

"For starters," replies Hannibal Smith, "We have enough canned and dried foods to last us for months. Even with your people joining us, it will be a long time before we go hungry. We also have lots of medical supplies. I take it the infirmary wasn't fully stocked when you guys got here?"

"The only medical supplies we have are whatever we could scrounge together from a few First Aid kits."

"We can make the infirmary fully stocked with all necessary emergency supplies, and the dispensary stocked with every medication we might need down the line."

"How'd you manage that?"

"We cleared out a hospital which was overrun."

"What else?"

"Well most importantly," says Hannibal, "We can make this colony of yours totally self-sufficient. We have all the building supplies needed to make a greenhouse . . . several greenhouses, in fact. We have soil, fertilizer, seeds and seedlings of every fruit and vegetable we could find. We have berry bushes and fruit trees. And all of our boats are fishing boats. They're mostly lobster boats, all packed to capacity with lobster traps. We can start setting the traps up in the bay and see what we can catch. We also have a Japanese whaler, which will harpoon a whale for our dinner table once they can find one, and a tuna boat, which is on its way here right now with a net full of fresh tuna. And finally," concludes the colonel, "we also have guns. Lots of guns. And ammunition for them as well. We also have plenty of bows, arrows, and crossbows, if any of your group happens to be archers. Even if they're not, they can learn. And without wasting any rounds of ammunition either."

"If you don't mind me saying so, Sir," says Sergeant Anderson, "That all sounds mighty tempting to me."

"Yeah, me too," adds Ruiz, "I'm getting pretty tired of Spam and beans."

"Yeah," says Scott Baker, "And what we have left ain't gonna last much longer."

"It'll be real nice to be able to eat some fresh caught tuna," adds Karl, "Or lobster."

"What do you say, Myron?" asks Colonel Brewster.

Captain Goldman thinks for a moment. "Food. Medicine. Supplies. Sounds pretty good to me," he says.

Colonel Brewster holsters his sidearm, "In that case gentlemen," he says, "Welcome to Alcatraz."

Everyone on both sides lowers their weapons, and Hannibal turns to John Peter McAllister. "Johnny," he says to his old war buddy, "Head back to the boats and tell them to start unloading everything. It looks like we're gonna be staying a while."

The Master smiles at his old friend, then signals to his student to join him. As the two ninjas head back down to the docks, the rest of the group begin introductions to their new allies.

"Colonel Brewster," says Hannibal, "I want you to meet the rest of our company. The young lady with the shotgun is Daisy Duke. And these two young men with her are her cousins, Bo and Luke Duke. Luke here was also in 'Nam, in the marine corps. The young man in the police uniform is Enos Strate. The three young ladies there are former L.A. police officers, Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett. The two I sent back to the boats are John Peter McAllister, who I served with back in Korea. And the young man with him is Max Keller, who he's training to become a ninja."

"A ninja?" says Ruiz, "Like in the movies? Really?"

"That's what he says," replies Hannibal, "When they get back we'll introduce you to the rest of our crew. A former newspaper reporter named Amy Allen, and a couple of bounty hunters, Colt Seavers and Jody Banks."

"Is that all?"

"Well there's also the crews of the fishing boats that we came here on," admits Hannibal, "But I'm afraid I haven't learned all of their names yet. They'll have to introduce themselves."

"I see," says Colonel Brewster. He then turns to his own men, "Anderson, go get Hockenbury and those two civilian doctors. Let them know that we'll have medical supplies that they'll need to inventory. Then round up the rest of the team and bring them down to the docks to help unload the supplies."

"Right away, sir," replies Sergeant Anderson as he salutes the colonel and runs off to do as he's asked.

"In the meantime," says Colonel Brewster, "What do you say we all head down to the docks and start unloading those supplies?"

"Sounds like a plan, Colonel," replies Hannibal. The two groups of survivors join together and begin walking towards the docks together. As they're walking along, Colonel Brewster can't help but to glance over at B.A. Finally he just has to say something.

"I'm sorry, but have we met somewhere before?" asks the colonel, to which B.A. just growls and continues walking. Carl Brewster just shrugs his shoulders and continues on.

"Don't take it personally," says Hannibal, "He's like that with everyone. Don't worry. He'll grow on you."

"Yeah," says Murdock, "Kinda like a rash."

"Shut up sucka!" shouts B.A. "I'm sick of your crazy jibber jabber!" Murdock sticks his tongue out and blows a raspberry at B.A. who then chases after the chopper pilot. The smaller man just runs away laughing hysterically. The rest of Hannibal's group, who are all used to the antics of those two by now, all chuckle at the sight.

"Don't worry," Face tells Colonel Brewster, "He won't actually kill him . . . I hope."

"So Colonel," says Hannibal, "How did you and your old unit find yourselves here on Alcatraz during all this mess?"

"Our unit was having a reunion in Golden Gate Park. We were getting together with our families for a potluck picnic lunch. The captain, Sergeant Anderson and I weren't able to attend due to the growing crisis across the country, but our wives and kids were attending in our places. I had managed to get us at least enough time to make an appearance and say hello. Then we were going to have to return to headquarters. Turns out, no sooner had we arrived at the reunion than the shit really starts to hit the fan. The next thing we know we're in the middle of Michael Jackson's _Thriller _video fighting for our survival. There's a gun store right across the street from Golden Gate Park, so we went there and loaded up on as much guns and ammunition as we could carry. Then we looted a corner grocery store of as many canned goods as we could fit into our cars and then fled to the marina. When we got there we found a wealthy couple trying to keep those damned things from boarding their yacht. We saved them and in return they agreed to give us a ride out of the city. We decided to hold up here, where we met the rest of our group. The tour guides, tourists, and security guards had all been stranded on the island because of the crisis on the mainland. So far things have been going pretty well, all things considered. Except that we're running frightfully short on food. But at least the dead don't seem to be able to swim."

"That's one hell of a story," admits Hannibal. Just then the group arrives at the dock. At the same time, Colt Seavers and Jody Banks have arrived on the tuna boat which has a large net filled with tuna hanging over the bow of the ship. McAllister and Max have organized the fishermen and they had already managed to unload a great deal of the gathered supplies. "Colonel Brewster," says Smith, "I'd like to introduce the rest of our group. This is our good friend, former investigative journalist Amy Allen. The captain of the fleet that brought us here, Doug Mayer and his sister Shana. Hollywood stunt woman, slash bounty hunter, Jody Banks. And her friend, as well as fellow stunt man and bounty hunter . . ."

"Scarlett?" says Colonel Brewster.

"What?" asks Hannibal.

"Private Tom Scarlett? Is that you?"

"I'm sorry sir," says Colt Seavers, "I'm afraid you've got me confused with someone else. My name's Colt Seavers. And I've never served in Vietnam."

"The resemblance is uncanny," remarks Captain Goldman, "But Private Scarlett was at least ten years older than this guy, and that was twenty years ago."

"Good point," agrees Colonel Brewster, "I guess it's true what they say. Everyone has a double of them out there somewhere."

"Well it's good to meet you anyway," says Colt as he offers the Colonel his hand, "And thank you for agreeing to let us join you."

"The way I figured it, we could either turn you away and starve to death or allow you to join us and make this place more liveable. You guys would have eventually wound up setting up camp here eventually anyways. Might as well be alive to see it happen."

Just then Sergeant Anderson comes down the path with a group of people right behind him. Some of them are armed with hunting rifles and, while dressed in civilian attire, are clearly military trained and thus most likely other members of the platoon who had attended the reunion. The rest are unarmed and all clearly civilians. One unarmed man is wearing a tie dyed t-shirt and a fringed suede vest, with long hair, love beads, and a thick mustache. There's another man who walks with a cane and has a very pronounced limp. Then there's three unarmed women, a couple of unarmed men, and four teenagers, two boys and two girls, also unarmed. The aging hippy's jaw drops when he sees Colt Seavers. "Pop?" he says.

"We've already been through this, Doc," says Captain Goldman, "This isn't Private Scarlett. They just bear an uncanny resemblance to one another."

"Man," says one of the former soldiers in civilian attire, a tall fit black man, "If Pop's kid hadn't had been killed in 'Nam, I woulda sworn that this was his son."

"Allow me the opportunity to introduce the rest of my team. This here is former sergeant Marcus Taylor," says Colonel Brewster, indicating the black man who had just spoken. Then he points to another black man in a dress shirt and slacks right next to Taylor, "That's former sergeant Marvin Johnson. The gentleman in the blue jeans and t-shirt is former corporal Daniel Percell. The fellow with the cane I never had the pleasure of serving with, but he was the team's former radio operator, Roger Horn. That gentleman there was our chopper pilot, Lieutenant Johnny McKay. Then there's Sergeant Anderson's wife, psychiatrist Doctor Jennifer Seymour. Ruiz's wife, Suzanna Lazado-Ruiz, a registered nurse. That gentleman there is Doctor David Howser, a former M*A*S*H surgeon and captain in Vietnam. That's his son Douglas, who believe it or not is also a doctor."

"He's a doctor?" asks Face, "How old is he? Twelve?"

"I'm fifteen!" the young man shoots back, "And I happen to have an IQ of 220 and an eidetic memory!"

"That's right!" says the other teenaged boy, "Doogie's parents took us to Alcatraz to celebrate him beginning his residency at the hospital!"

"Doogie?" says Face with a snicker.

"That's what Douglas's friends call him," says Doogie's father, "And he is a genius, and well on his way to becoming a first rate physician. These are his friends, Vincent Delpino, Wanda Plenn, and Janine Stewart."

"Sorry," apologises Lieutenant Peck, "I didn't mean any offence. It's just a little surprising to find someone so young who is actually a doctor."

"The gentleman in the tie dye and love beads was our unit's medic in 'Nam, Francis Hockenbury." Says Colonel Brewster.

"Call me Doc Hock," says the hippy, "Everyone does."

"And finally, this is the couple who were kind enough to give us a lift to this fortification. Johnathan and Jennifer Hart."

"Johnathan Hart?" says Face, "Of Hart Industries? _That _Johnathan Hart?"

"One and the same," says the distinguished older gentleman.

"Who's Johnathan Hart?" asks Hannibal.

"Colonel, you have got to read Forbes Magazine every once in a while," replies Face, "This man is a multibillionaire. He's one of the richest men in the country."

"Once upon a time," says Johnathan modestly, "Today I'm no better than anybody else. Money doesn't really mean much nowadays. The oysters that were harvested to make my wife's pearl necklace are considered to be far more valuable than the necklace itself."

"Wait a minute!" interrupts Amy Allen, "_You're _Jennifer Hart? Investigative reporter, Jennifer Hart?"

"One and the same," replies the attractive older woman.

"I _love _your work!" exclaims Amy, "I am a _huge _fan!"

"Thank you," replies Jennifer, "You know, I had been following your work as well, back before all this happened. You're very good."

"Why thank you. Coming from you, that's a great honor."

"Alright!" says Colonel Brewster, "Now that introductions are out of the way, why don't we get these supplies up to the rest of the group! We can sit around and sing Kumbaya when the work is done!"

"The Colonel's right!" says Hannibal, "Let's get this stuff up into the complex. There will be more than enough time to get to know our new friends here once everything's been unloaded!"

With nods of agreement from everyone, the two groups of survivors begin working side by side taking cases of food, clothing, and medicine up to the former prison. Tanks filled with propane, bags of charcoal briquettes, bundles of firewood, sleeping bags, they're all being unloaded and carried up to the fortified tourist attraction. When the people who were waiting at the prison see how much is being brought by the newcomers, they quickly pitch in to help as well. Soon the barbecue sets are being unloaded, and the extra guns and ammunition. The bows, crossbows, arrows, and crossbow bolts are also brought back. Virtually every type of tool one could ever need, whether it be for building a house or building a carburetor, is also unloaded. Dozens of car batteries, CB radios, even a satellite dish are all unloaded. Taylor and Johnson's eyes nearly fall out of their heads when they see B.A. and the Baker Brothers carrying sealed beer kegs on their shoulders. "Man, I think I'm gonna like these guys," says Taylor, and he and Johnson pound each other's fists.

Eventually all of the equipment and supplies have been unloaded from the boats. Everything is stacked in the recreation yard. Tables and chairs are being set up, the barbecue sets are being assembled. The medical supplies are being sorted and put away in the infirmary. The tuna are being cleaned and cut into steaks. And most of the food is being taken into the prison kitchen, where it's being sorted and put away in the pantry. All in all, it's shaping up to be a very good evening.

**Guest Starring**

**(From Tour of Duty)**

Carl Weathers as Colonel Carl Brewster

Stephen Caffrey as Captain Myron Goldman

Terence Knox as Sergeant Zeke Anderson

Tony Becker as Danny Percell

Miguel Nunez Jr. as Marcus Taylor

Stan Foster as Marvin Johnson

Ramon Franco as Alberto Ruiz

Eric Bruskotter as Scott Baker

Karl Bruskotter as Karl Baker

John Dye as Francis "Doc Hock" Hockenbury

Joshua D. Maurer as Roger Horn

Dan Gauthier as Lieutenant John McKay

Kamala Lopez as Susanna Lozada-Ruiz

Betsy Brantley as Dr. Jennifer Seymour-Anderson

**(From Doogie Howser M.D.)**

Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Douglas "Doogie" Howser

Max Casella as Vincent "Vinnie" Salvatore Delpino

James B. Sikking as Dr. David Howser

Lisa Dean Ryal as Wanda Plenn

Lucy Boryer as Janine Stewart

Belinda Montgomery as Katherine Howser

(not seen in this chapter)

**(From Hart To Hart)**

Robert Wagner as Johnathan Hart

Stefanie Powers as Jennifer Hart


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

A wooden folding table is set up with several kegs of beer laid out upon them. Bricks are used to prevent the kegs from rolling off onto the ground. On another table are several pitchers of water, next to several water coolers with full water bottles on top, where Amy Allen is mixing Tang drink crystals in some of the pitchers, and skim milk powder in others. Over at another table, John Peter McAllister and Max Keller are cleaning the tuna, cutting them into steaks, and seasoning them with herbs and spices looted from the shopping centre that the team had cleared. Several of the coal burning barbeques have been set up and filled with charcoal briquettes, which have been lit and are now heating up.

On one of these barbeques, B.A. Barracus has placed a large cooking pot and is pouring in several pitchers of drinking water as well as pitchers of skim milk. He then begins opening several tin cans of mixed vegetables and dumping the contents into the pot. As the water and milk are heating up, B.A. adds a large scoop of soft margarine which the group had managed to salvage from the supermarket that they had ransacked. He then stirs the mixture, waiting for the margarine to melt. Once it has, he begins adding boxes of powdered mashed potatoes, making sure the contents of each box has fully blended into the liquid before pouring in the next box. Soon the pot is filled all the way to the top with creamy mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

While B.A. was working on the potatoes, McAllister and Max were manning the other grills, cooking up the tuna steaks for the group. By the time the potatoes are done, so are the fish. The united groups of survivors line up with plates in hand and get a serving of tuna and potatoes with canned mixed vegetables. As they dig into their meal, it's obvious by everyone's expressions that this was the best meal that they've had in a long time. It's also very clear to both Colonel Brewster and Hannibal that the two groups joining forces was indeed a good idea.

"So what have you been up to since 'Nam?" Hannibal asks Colonel Brewster during a second helping of dinner.

"I'm career military," says Brewster, "I've been going where ever Uncle Sam sends me."

"It's been nearly twenty years since 'Nam and you're still just a colonel?"

"The brass didn't much care for my methods of command over there," replies Carl, "I preferred to treat my men like people and not like pawns on a chess board. That seemed to piss off a few generals. Fortunately I was too good at my job to get drummed out of the military entirely. So they had to settle for passing me over for promotion and giving me every shit detail that they could think of for someone of my rank."

"I can relate," says Hannibal.

"Since then I've been watching over Myron's career, recommending him for promotions and commendations."

"I appreciate that," says Captain Goldman.

"I've been working as a drill sergeant," says Zeke Anderson, "I thought I should pass on the skills that I had learned in 'Nam that kept me alive over there but were never a part of my own basic training. Like the colonel, I want my boys to come back alive."

"You're not the only one you kept alive over there Serge," says Taylor, "I probably wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for what you taught me."

"What have you been up to, brother?" asks B.A.

"After my first tour in 'Nam was up, the army offered to pay my college tuition if I re-enlisted. No one in my family ever went to college before. It got me to thinking about what our old medic, Randy Matsuda, said to me right before he died. He said, 'Get all the education that you can, because that's one thing that they can never take away from you.' So I stayed in 'Nam, got promoted to sergeant, and by the time we were finally sent home Uncle Sam was obligated to give me a first class college education. So I went to school and got a degree in economics. Y'all should've seen my grandma's face when I graduated. I don't think I've seen her any more proud. After that I got a job as a salesman at a little used car lot. The owner was a white dude who fought in Korea, and he and I became good friends. When he passed away, he left the business to me in his will. Since then I've expanded the business, and it's now one of the largest used car dealerships in the state of Michigan. At least, it was before the shit hit the fan and all of this started."

"Good for you, brother," says B.A.

"Funny thing though," says Taylor, "Ever since the dead have started to come back to life and attack the living, I have been having the strangest sense of Déjà vu. I just can't shake the feeling that I've been through all of this before."*

"You're crazy, man," says Baker.

"So what have you been doing since 'Nam, big man?" asks Murdock.

"Well, Karl and I were both sent home together. We decided to put our combat experience to good use."

"How? Did you guys become cops? Security guards?"

"Pro wrestlers."

"What?"

"We're pro wrestlers. The Battling Baker Boys. We're the current California Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions."

"Really?" says Murdock, "That's great! You know, B.A. here is good friends with Hulk Hogan."

"Really?" says Karl.

"Seriously?" says Scott.

"That's right," says B.A. "I met him in 'Nam. His band, The Ruckus, was playing a USO tour. I was a part of the security detail assigned to accompany them. One day, Charlie shot our chopper down. I had to guide him and his band out of the jungle. We were lucky though. No civilian casualties."

"Woah," says Scott Baker, "You know almost the exact same thing happened to us. We came across a USO band that was lost in the jungle after their chopper got shot down by the enemy. Unfortunately we weren't able to save everyone. By the time we managed to rendezvous with the chopper we had lost all but the two backup dancers."

"Hey," Karl says to B.A. "Any chance you might be able to introduce us to The Hulkster?"

"Really Karl?" says Scott, to which his twin brother just shrugs his shoulders.

"Maybe if he managed to steer clear of this whole mess," says the large black man, "The last I heard, his wife had given birth to a little girl. If their house is secure, they might be okay. As far as I know, his property is surrounded by a wrought iron fence. So it should be free of walkers, but unless I can contact him in person, I don't know."

"Walkers?"

"You know. The dead."

"Ah! We've been calling them ghouls."

"Why ghouls?" asks Hannibal.

"In Arabian mythology," explains Doogie, "A ghoul is an undead creature which feeds on the flesh of the living. With what's been happening to the world at large, I'd say it's a fairly accurate description of the people who have been afflicted with this virus."

"It is at that," agrees Hannibal.

"What about you, friend?" Murdock asks Johnson, "What have you been doing since 'Nam?"

"Well, like my man Taylor here, I took advantage of my G.I. bill to get a college education. I got myself a degree in accounting and got a job at my town's Savings &amp; Loan. It wasn't long until I became the first black man to ever become the vice president of a bank in all of Mississippi. I've been doing pretty damn good for myself, up until all of this."

"How about you, Doc?" Face asks Hockenbury.

"After coming back from 'Nam I got a job as a paramedic," says Hockenbury, "After a while I got sick of the city life and decided to hook up with some old friends of mine on an old hippy commune. We stayed there, living off the land and pretty much off the grid, until all of this started happening. I got a letter from the serge asking me to come to the reunion, and now I'm here."

"I've been working as an auto-mechanic in a garage," says Ruiz, "I don't exactly wear a suit and tie like these guys here, but the money was good and the work plentiful."

"I got sent home about halfway through my first tour," says Horn, "I got shot up pretty bad while trying to retake Hill 1000."

"Try my ass!" says Taylor, "You took out that VC bunker practically single handed!"

"Yeah, for all the good it did," laments Horn, "The damned brass went and handed it right back over to the enemy before I was even put on the medivac."

"I know," agrees Percell, "They could have at least let our South Vietnamese allies dig in there and defend it, so it'd cost Charlie as much to take it back from us as it cost us to take it from them."

"Yeah, but that would've made sense," says Taylor, "And God knows you can't have any of that in the army."

"Too many old timers running things back then," says Colonel Brewster, "The generals in charge were all veterans of World War 1 and World War 2. Back then you won a war by killing more of the other guys' people than they killed of yours. It was all body counts, kill ratios. They just didn't understand that Vietnam was playing by a different set of rules."

"Well thanks to their stupidity, I have to walk with a cane for the rest of my life!" says Horn a little bitterly, "You don't even want to know how much it hurts when it rains!" He calms down and then continues his tale, "When I got home with a medical discharge, I enrolled at UC-Berkeley. I got a degree in journalism. I used that and my connections to the local blues musicians in Chicago, to get a job as a radio DJ on one of the local rock &amp; roll stations. Been doing that ever since. Even became somewhat of a local celebrity."

"I was doing construction for a while back in Montana," says Percell, "I saved up my money, and once my dad finally decided to retire from the rodeo circuit we started the horse breeding business that he and I always talked about. We did really well too. Some of our horses even won some pretty big races."

"I've been working as a helicopter pilot here in San Francisco," says John McKay, "Giving people tours of the bay and such. Not quite as exciting as swooping in under enemy fire to pick up your team from a mission, but certainly better than doing traffic reports."

"Yeah, I heard that you were the second best chopper pilot we had in Vietnam," says Murdock mischievously.

"That's funny," says McKay, "I've heard the same thing about you."

"And yet I'm a captain while you're still only a lieutenant."

"True, but I also don't live at the psych ward at the local VA hospital."

"Touché."

"Colonel," Hannibal says to Colonel Brewster, "We should start our preparations for the long haul first thing tomorrow morning."

"What do you suggest, Smith?" asks the colonel.

"Anyone not skilled in carpentry or construction should work at planting the fruit trees that we've brought in the orchard. The rest of us will start building the greenhouses. We'll build them in the recreation yard. We won't take up the entire yard. We're going to be needing some space for recreational activities, getting exercise, and so on. But we should have as many greenhouses as we can reasonably build inside the compound for security reasons. After all, if we end up being besieged, we don't want to wind up starving to death in here."

"Makes sense," agrees Brewster.

"We should also begin scavenging building materials from the buildings that aren't a part of the tour and have fallen into disrepair. We can use those to shore up our defenses and improve our living conditions."

"Agreed," says Brewster.

"And from now on, everyone should be armed at all times. They need to be carrying at least a side arm and a knife."

"Even the civilians?"

"_Especially _The civilians," says Hannibal, "There aren't enough trained soldiers and police amongst us to properly defend this base. If this fort is attacked, _everyone _has to be ready, willing, and able to help defend it."

"How likely is it that we'll get attacked?"

"The whole world has been turned upside down. Crises like this can bring out the worst traits in people. People who would have never hurt another human being before the dead began to rise are all of a sudden committing rape and murder. Meanwhile a convicted gangbanger is protecting his friend's grandmother from a horde of walkers."

"I see your point."

"Your Sergeant Anderson can train the civilians in the use and upkeep of firearms, as well as lead them in daily calisthenics. My friend, John Peter McAllister, will train them in hand to hand combat and archery. No offense to the sergeant, as I'm sure he is a skilled fighter, but he's no ninja."

"Wait a minute!" says Vinnie, "Are you saying we get to become ninjas?"

"Some of you maybe," says McAllister with a smile, "If you can survive the training."

"I don't know," says Doogie, "I've been training my whole life to save lives, not take them."

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there now Doog," Vinnie tells him, "Your old sensibilities don't necessarily apply."

"Still . . ."

"I know how you feel, kid," says Horn, "I was a war protester before I got sent to Vietnam. I didn't think I could kill another human being either. Especially for a morally corrupt and unjust war. But I couldn't let my friends die either. When I had a choice between killing the enemy and watching them kill my friends, you're damn right I pulled that trigger."

"No one's going to hold your reverence for life against you son," says McAllister, "But with the way the world is today, you'd be a fool not to be prepared to defend yourself and the ones you love. If you must, you can reserve lethal force for the ghouls. But you will still need to be able to defend yourself against the living."

"Besides," adds Vinnie, "We get to be ninjas. Honest to God, real freakin' ninjas!"

"Alright," agrees Doogie, "But I'm a doctor first."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," says McAllister, "My master used to tell me, _True power comes not from the ability to take a life, but rather the ability to give it_."

"Your master sounds like he was one hell of a man," says Doogie's father.

"He was," replies McAllister, with a moment of sadness showing in his eyes.

Just then Doogie's mom, Katherine Howser, comes out of the main building with Daisy Duke and Jennifer Hart in tow. Each of them is carrying a serving tray loaded with a stack of brownies. They begin serving them to the united groups of survivors, who are all pleasantly surprised to find that the brownies are in fact fresh baked and still warm from the oven.

"Wow, Mrs. Howser!" exclaims Vinnie, "How did you manage to make fresh brownies? The gas has been shut off since the army fire bombed the city."

"The girls and I hooked one of the propane tanks up to one of the ovens in the kitchen," she replies.

"Mmmmmm!" says Taylor as he takes a bite, "Delicious! But where did you get the eggs?"

"We used apple sauce as a substitute," she replies, "When Doogie was a baby he had an allergy to eggs, so I had to use substitutions in my baking. Luckily he outgrew that particular allergy."**

"That's true," says Doogie after swallowing a bite of his brownie, "In fact a lot of babies are born with similar allergies which they often times outgrow. And apple sauce makes a good substitute in a lot of recipes that require eggs."

Once the community has finished their dessert, Roger Horn pulls out his harmonica and begins playing a few notes. Then Sergeant Anderson takes out his own harmonica and begins to play along, although with considerably less skill than his former radio operator. Some of the members of the group wince.

"Damn, Zeke," says Goldman, "It's been how long now and you _still_ don't know how to play that thing?"

That inspires a few chuckles from the group. Colt Seavers pulls out his guitar and plays the first few notes of a popular Rolling Stones song. Anderson and Horn look at each other and smile, and then immediately start to play along. Taylor, quickly washing down his mouthful of brownie with a glass of beer, gets up and immediately starts to sing.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colours anymore, I want them to turn black

I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black

With flowers and my love both never to come back

I see people turn their heads and quickly walk away

Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day

Look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door, I must have it painted black

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue

I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the setting sun

My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colours anymore, I want it to turn black

I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm . . ."

The entire community applauds Taylor's musical interpretation of the Rolling Stones, although his version of the song sounded a bit more like a James Brown performance. But without any other sources of music, this was probably the best entertainment that they could have for a good long while. Taylor bows to his audience, and then does a quick impression of Michael Jackson dancing on stage (spinning on one foot, stopping on his tip toes, while grabbing his crotch with one hand and thrusting his hips forward while pointing to the sky with the other hand). This prompts a chuckle from the group. Then Horn begins playing a Michael Jackson song on his harmonica, to which Colt and Anderson quickly jump in on.

"It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark

Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart

You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it

You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes

You're paralyzed

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike

You know it's thriller, thriller night You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

You hear the door slam, and realize there's nowhere left to run

You feel the cold hand, and wonder if you'll ever see the sun

You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination

But all the while, you hear the creature creepin' up behind

You're out of time

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting to survive inside a killer, thriller tonight

Night creatures call

And the dead start to walk in their masquerade

There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien this time

They're open wide

This is the end of your life

They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side

They will possess you, unless you change the number on your dial

Now is the time, for you and I to cuddle close together

All through the night, I'll save you from the terrors on the screen

I'll make you see

That it's a thriller, thriller night

'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try

Girl, this is thriller, thriller night

So let me hold you tight and share a killer, driller, chiller

Thriller here tonight!"

Then Vinnie stands up and doing his best Vincent Price impersonation he says,

"Darkness falls across the land

The midnight hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood

To terrorize y'all's neighbourhood

And whosoever shall be found

Without the soul for getting down

Must stand and face the hounds of Hell

And rot inside a corpses shell

The foulest stench is in the air

The funk of forty thousand years

And grizzly ghouls from every tomb

Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive

Your body starts to shiver

For no mere mortal can resist

The evil of the thriller

Can you dig it?"

And then Vinnie does a very good approximation of Vincent Price's maniacal laugh. Everyone cheers the performance. They continue singing songs well into the night, including _The Unknown Stuntman _and _The Good Ol' Boys._ They also sing some campfire classics, like _Kumbaya, Michael Row The Boat Ashore, _and _Tom Dooley. _As the night wears on people go inside and go to bed, until the entire community is eventually asleep.

**Author's Note**

*For those of you unaware, Miguel Nunez Jr. played one of the punks in the horror/comedy _Return of the Living Dead. _This little "Deja Vu" remark is just my little tip of the proverbial hat to that particular bit of trivia.

**The part about substituting apple sauce for eggs is actually true. My niece and nephew were both born with egg allergies. My sister had to use apple sauce as an egg substitute in many recipes that required eggs (cakes, brownies, cookies, etc.). Both of her kids outgrew their allergies, so they can now enjoy many other dishes that require lots of eggs (they both love French crepes and Yorkshire pudding for example).


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Colonel Brewster and Hannibal Smith awaken early the next morning and go about rousing the rest of their group. The Dukes and Danny Percell are all easy to get to wake up as they all have been living on a farm for most of their lives, as are the members of the A-Team, Sergeant Anderson, and Captain Goldman for they still live with military discipline. McAllister and Max too were already awake and ready to meet the day. The rest of Team Viking however, and the other members of the group, have all been living as civilians for too long. Luckily the food scavenged from the supermarket by the A-Team and company included a case of instant pancake mix, which only requires it be mixed with water. Daisy and her cousins take it upon themselves to be the cooks for their community. They mix up a gigantic batch of pancake batter and start cooking up pancakes for everyone. Soon, with a couple of pancakes in their bellies, even B.A. is a little less grumpy.

Once they've eaten breakfast, everyone is divided into different work details. B.A. and Danny Percell are put in charge of building the greenhouses. Bo and Luke are put in charge of planting the fruit trees. Doug and Shana Mayers are put in charge of setting lobster traps around the island. And Face Man is put in charge of scavenging building materials from the remains of the warden's house and the officer's club. Once the team leaders have been established, the rest of the survivors are divided amongst them. Only a handful of people aren't assigned to help with the fishing, the building, the planting, or the scavenging. Doogie Howser, his dad, Nurse Susanna, Doc Hock, and Doctor Seymour-Anderson spend much of that first day setting up the infirmary and taking inventory of the medical supplies that the newcomers had provided them with. John McKay, Roger Horn, and Howling Mad Murdock take the scavenged radio parts up to the lighthouse and begin assembling them there. They build the antenna on the very top of the lighthouse so that the signal will reach as far as possible.

Max Keller walks into the prison cafeteria to find The Master coating lengths of heavy wooden doweling with wood stain. "What are you doing?" Max asks the old ninja master.

"If I'm going to be training people how to fight," replies The Master, "They're going to need weapons. I'm staining these pieces of doweling to use them as Bo staffs. I've already cut several lengths of doweling in half to form Hanbo sticks."

"Can I help?" asks Max.

"Please do."

So Max sits down next to his mentor and picks up a paint brush and begins brushing the wood stain onto the wooden rods. Outside, there are several trenches approximately twelve inches deep dug into the ground in the recreation yard forming several large rectangles along the north wall. The frames for the walls are built and placed inside these trenches. Once all four sides are connected at the corners, buckets of cement are mixed up using sea water and cement mix and poured into the trenches, cementing the frames into the ground and ensuring that these structures will be able to stand up to some of the most brutal weather imaginable. By the end of the first day they have the frames of several greenhouse walls built, complete with the frames for the doors built into the front of each structure. The frames for the roofs haven't been built yet, but the frames for the doors are designed with both a doorknob with a security lock and a deadbolt. The idea being that if the dead were to breach the compound, one could find refuge inside one of the greenhouses.

The next day the work continues on the greenhouses. The frames for the greenhouse roofs are built, as are the troughs for planting the crops. As all of the fruit trees were successfully planted the day before, Bo and Luke Duke and their group are now churning up the earth on the parade grounds in hope of growing more crops out there. While the greenhouses will provide them with fresh fruits and vegetables year round, the restrictions of the amount of food that can be produced due to the size of the buildings is a bit of a concern. The parade grounds are spacious enough to provide much more food than all of the greenhouses being built put together. They just have to hope that the birds which nest on the island shores don't eat the crops before they can be harvested.

With the radio built, Murdock, Horn, and McKay are now going about stringing chicken wire up on the cell bars of all of the prison cells in Cell Block A. They remove the bunks from some of the cells and move them into others, and then build ramps that go from one bunk to the next. They leave empty buckets in each of the cells as well. By the time they're done the cell block has been converted into a barn, with some cells to be used as chicken coups, while others are to be used as pens for larger animals.

Face and his team had managed to scavenge enough raw materials from the crumbling buildings to make several smaller structures. The first thing on the agenda is security. Loose bricks are hauled up to the guard towers where, once there are enough of them, they are used to build a wall just inside the safety rail, as the guard towers were not intended to provide the guards with adequate cover should they be caught in a fire fight. As it was a prison, the odds of escaping inmates having firearms were very low, making bullet proof cover not a high priority. They also hauled several loads of bricks into the prison's kitchen. There they dismantled the griddle and the oven, and used the parts to build a wood burning stove. They shot out a window and built the stove right below it so that the chimney could be built to direct the smoke out the open window. And finally, they built a large outdoor wood burning barbeque grill which would allow them to cook for nearly the entire community outside without having to man multiple smaller barbeques.

By the third day, the Plexiglas has been cut to size and installed on all of the greenhouses. The wood framed, Plexiglas doors have been installed, complete with deadbolt and security locks. And grouting has been installed into all of the cracks, sealing in the humidity. B.A. even does something rather innovative with the greenhouses. He bores four large holes in the greenhouse walls just below the rafters, two in the front, two in the back, and all four positioned in line with the plant troughs. He then suspends four plastic drainage pipes from the rafters, with one end capped off, the open end placed through the holes in the greenhouse walls, and small holes drilled into the pipes at regular intervals. Then he installs rain gutters onto the exteriors of the greenhouses. But instead of gathering the rain water in rain barrels, the gutters feed the water into the drain pipes, which will in turn drizzle the rain water onto the plants below. Once everything is in place, he seals up the gaps between the pipes and the Plexiglas with grout. This will allow the rain to water the crops without the colony having to sacrifice their precious drinking water.

Now that the rebuilding has finished, Zeke Anderson and John Peter McAllister begin whipping the people into shape. They begin with a run along the beach of the island, traversing the entire circumference. They then gather in the recreation yard for push ups, sit ups, pull ups, squat thrusts, and jumping jacks. Some of the people were in better shape than others and were better at keeping up, while others struggled with doing even a single pull up. From there they move on to firearm use and maintenance. Those with police and military training require less instruction than the civilians, although many members of Team Viking hadn't fired a rifle since Vietnam. They also found a language barrier with the Japanese whalers, as only a few of them spoke any English. Fortunately McAllister elected to take over their basic training, as he speaks fluent Japanese after thirty years living in Japan. Those who were learning how to shoot from scratch were taught to shoot using empty guns, in order to get them used to aiming and pulling the trigger without wasting ammunition on target practice. Then in order to get them to pull the trigger without flinching, those with firearms experience would stand behind those without as they practiced shooting with empty guns and clap two bricks together right behind their heads to simulate the startling noise of the firearm. Then when they can keep from flinching from the sound of the bricks, they move on to live ammunition.

Empty cans from their meals of the previous several days were used as the targets. As expected, those with military or police training have very little trouble hitting what they aim at. Even some of the civilians, like Daisy and Luke Duke, are remarkably good shots. Of course, with their rural upbringing out in the country they likely did plenty of hunting. One pleasant surprise was Johnathan and Jennifer Hart, who hit every target with ease.

"Very nice," says Zeke.

"Skeet shooting," Johnathan says with a shrug.

"You any good?"

"Not as good as I am," replies Jennifer with a sly grin.

"I believe you." replies the sergeant.

Some of the other civilians are far less capable with a gun, however. Doogie Howser and his friends all seem to have difficulty getting the bullet anywhere near their targets. His mom and dad aren't much better. Zeke Anderson's daughter Katie apparently never inherited her father's aptitude for firearms either. Susana Ruiz, Doc Hockenbury, and a few other civilians also prove to be not very proficient with firearms. But for the most part, the firearms training was a huge success.

As the calisthenics began to take effect and the community became more physically fit, McAllister began with their ninjitsu training. One morning, after their morning run, the entire community lines up in formation in the recreation yard. The Master and Max stand in front of the gathered group. McAllister is dressed in his ninja uniform, while Max is dressed in black sweat pants and a white tank top. "My friend, Hannibal Smith, has asked me to teach you all how to fight!" begins McAllister, "With both your bare hands, and with weapons! Some of you may already have some experience in this area! Some of you do not! As such, we will begin with the basics!"

McAllister then picks up a pair of bo staffs and hands one to Max. "This is a bo staff!" he says, "Some also call this a quarterstaff! It is a wooden pole, approximately six feet in length and one and a half inches thick! It has been treated to be waterproof and is capable of taking an incredible pounding!"

McAllister and Max then turn and bow to one another. "Kogeki!" he says (Translated from Japanese, "_Attack!_"). Max attacks The Master with the bo staff. McAllister parries and counters with an attack of his own. Max dodges the strike and counters it in return. The Master ducks under the attack and retaliates with a strike which Max parries. "Yameru!" says McAllister (Translated from Japanese, "Stop!") and Max freezes in place. "The benefit of the bo staff is that if you have an aversion to taking a human life, you can use this weapon in a nonlethal fashion by striking your opponent like this," and he swings the bo staff with his hand gripping the weapon close to the end that is to make contact with Max's face, only to pull up short an inch from his pupil's jaw, "or this," and he makes a similar swing aimed at Max's knee, which also pulls up short. "However! If you are fighting the dead, and you need to strike a killing blow to the skull, then all you have to do is change your grip and strike the ghoul like so!" And McAllister changes his grip on the staff so that both hands are holding it closer to one end as he swings the other end at Max's head, stopping just an inch away from his temple. Then The Master holds his bo staff next to him and bows to Max, who follows his teacher's example. Max then hands McAllister his bo staff and The Master puts them away and grabs a couple of pairs of hanbo sticks. He hands one pair to Max, and then addresses his audience.

"These are called hanbo sticks!" he says. "They are the smaller cousins of the bo staff! Usually used in pairs, they are sometimes called Filipino sticks! They are usually two and a half feet long and an inch and a half thick! Like the bo staff, they have been treated for durability! They have many advantages over their larger cousin, but just as many disadvantages!"

McAllister and Max turn to face each other once again and bow to one another. "Kogeki!" shouts The Master. Max immediately comes at his mentor with a flurry of strikes with his hanbo sticks, which the ninja master parries with ease. McAllister then goes on the offense, forcing Max onto his heels but failing to get through the younger man's defenses. Then McAllister shouts "Yameru!" just as he's bringing a hanbo stick down in an overhand downward strike. Max freezes in place with his one hanbo stick held up to parry the incoming attack. "The advantage of the hanbo is that it is a quicker weapon than the bo staff! Also, when using two, if you drop one hanbo you still have one to defend yourself with! It can be used to disarm," he brings his hanbo across to stop only an inch away from Max's wrist, which would certainly had forced him to drop the weapon had it connected, "Disable," and he brings a hanbo stick down to stop it just an inch away from Max's knee, "and drop your opponent!" and he swings the hanbo at Max's head, stopping just short of connecting. "The disadvantage of this weapon is that, being smaller and lighter than the bo staff, it may take multiple strikes to the skull to bring down a ghoul!"

Once again McAllister and Max stand at attention and bow to each other, after which Max hands his weapons over to his teacher. McAllister sets the hanbo sticks aside and then grabs a pair of machetes, handing one to Max. "The machete!" he says, "You've all probably seen them in slasher movies and the like! Originally designed as an agricultural tool, due to its sword-like size, weight, and design, it also makes a handy melee weapon!" The Master and Max face each other and bow once more. Then McAllister shouts "Kogeki!" Max attacks his teacher with a flurry of strikes, wielding the machete as though it were a ninjato sword. McAllister ducks, dodges, parries, and counters with his own machete, which Max in turn ducks, dodges, and parries. Suddenly, The Master manages to sweep Max's legs out from under him, sending him falling flat on his back, and then brings his machete down towards Max's skull, stopping only an inch away from splitting his pupil's head in two like a melon. McAllister looks out at his audience, "There are no half measures with the machete! Do not take up this weapon unless you are prepared to take a life!"

With that, he helps his student back up to his feet. He and Max face each other and bow. Then McAllister takes the two machetes and sets them aside. He then picks up a pair of hatchets and hands one to Max. He then turns and addresses the crowd. "The hatchet!" he says, "A favored weapon for many years! Like the machete, a common household tool which can have very lethal applications! While intended to be used to split wood, it can easily be used to split someone's skull! The North American Indians had a weapon very similar to this called a tomahawk! There are many designs of hatchet! Often times it's a small ax head set on a wooden handle! Sometimes the ax head and the handle are all one solid piece of metal, with a wooden or heavy duty plastic grip riveted onto the handle! If being used for combat, I personally would prefer the solid metal variation, as the handle is less likely to break due to extensive use! Like the machete, there are no half measures with the hatchet! Do not take this weapon if you are not prepared to take another's life!"

The Master and Max once again bow to each other. Once again The Master shouts "Kogeki!" and Max attacks him with the hatchet. McAllister parries and dodges his student's attacks, and then kicks the weapon out of Max's hand. As the hatchet flies end over end up in the air, McAllister kicks Max three times in rapid succession. Once to the gut, once to the chest, and once to the face. Then he quickly sweeps Max's legs out from under him, and as the younger man is falling to his back McAllister snatches the hatchet out of the air, crosses the two weapons, and then kneels down upon Max's chest with the edges of the two blades resting on either side of the student's neck. He then stands up and helps Max to his feet. The two men bow to each other and McAllister puts the hatchets away. He then picks up an army bayonet and holds it up.

"The knife!" he says, "One of man's earliest weapons! There are many variations! This is the bayonet! The preferred knife of the US army! It can be used on its own, or it can be attached to the barrel of a rifle turning it into a kind of spear! Then there's the survival knife, which some of you might remember from the Rambo movies, which has a larger blade and a hollow handle which contains several survival tools, such as fish hooks, fishing line, needle, thread, matches, etc.! Of course, anyone who's ever seen John Wayne's _The Alamo _or Disney's _Davey Crocket: King Of The Wild Frontier _is likely familiar with the Bowie knife, named of course after the man who designed it, Colonel Jim Bowie! But for me, a sentimental favorite, is the Japanese tanto. Similar in design and construction to the katana or the ninjato, it might not be as intimidating as some of its western counterparts, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for with sharpness and durability!"

McAllister puts away the American bayonet and picks up a Japanese tanto. Max ops for a Bowie knife. They bow to each other and then McAllister shouts "Kogeki!" Max immediately attacks his master with the knife, thrusting and slashing at him as though he were really trying to kill the man. He also throws several punches and kicks, making the older man worry about more than just the weapon. McAllister blocks, dodges, and parries every strike, and counters with some of his own. Finally McAllister catches Max's weapon hand by the wrist, twists his arm until he drops the weapon, and then flips him over his shoulder to land hard on his back. Then, keeping Max in a painful wristlock, McAllister brings his tanto down towards his student's skull, stopping only an inch away from his head. He looks up at his audience. "There are no half measures with the knife! It is a weapon with one purpose and one purpose only! To kill! If you are not prepared to take a life, you should not train to knife fight!" With that, McAllister rises to his feet and helps Max to his. Then the two men face each other and bow. Then The Master faces his audience.

"These techniques are all more advanced, and will be taught to you at a later time!" he tells them, "For now, we will be working on unarmed techniques! Everyone pair up, and follow my instructions!"

Everybody buddies up in pairs and faces each other. Then McAllister demonstrates the techniques with Max, walking them through the motions. First kicks and punches. And then blocks and counters. The students follow their instructors' movements as best they can. As they're practicing, McAllister and Max walk among them and correct their form when necessary. For the next several days the training would alternate between Sergeant Anderson's military training and The Master's ninja training. Then, in order to save on ammunition, rifle training and maintenance is changed to archery training. John Peter McAllister and Max Keller get Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke to help them teach everyone how to use a bow and arrow, or at least a crossbow. As with the rifles, some take to the bow and arrow more easily than others. For those who don't quite get the hang of shooting a bow, they get trained on the crossbow. Again, loading and shooting a crossbow is relatively simple. Actually hitting your target is another matter.

John Peter McAllister soon learns that some of his new students have a natural aptitude for the martial arts. Colonel Brewster's son and daughter prove to be especially talented. After talking with them, he learns that they have been studying _Vovinam _since they were both very young, and were both black belts in the art form. Doogie Howser also proved to be an exceptional student, as did his friends Wanda and Janine. Apparently, while more academically inclined than athletic, Doogie's eidetic memory allows him to memorize the maneuvers after only observing them once or twice. As for Wanda and Janine, they had taken ballet and gymnastics together. In fact, the girls first met in ballet class when they were very young. What is not commonly known is that many of the basic forms in ballet are nearly identical to the basic forms of kung fu, which makes learning martial arts far easier for those who have studied ballet. Another student who picked up the ninjitsu moves very easily is Jody Banks, likely due to her experience as a Hollywood stunt person. Zeke's daughter Katie Anderson also shows great potential as a possible ninja. So McAllister takes these students aside for advanced personal training. While the others are learning enough ninjitsu to hopefully keep them alive during a crisis situation, these select few might actually be able to call themselves _ninja. _

**Author's Notes**

Vovinam is a Vietnamese martial art, similar in many ways to Chinese kung fu. It consists of strikes using hands, feet, knees, and elbows, as well as throws and holds. It also includes the use of weapons, such as swords, knives, spears, and staves.

While I don't know 100% for sure about the similarities between ballet and kung fu, I have heard and read that it's true in movies, TV, and literature. However, as someone who has studied the martial arts I can say that it is certainly plausible. After all, capoera is taught in the form of a dance, although that's by design.

As for B.A.'s little innovation with the rain gutters on the green houses, that was just something I thought up once. A friend of my mom's came up with a far less well thought out plan for using rain water to water the plants in his greenhouse, which gave me the idea of using rain gutters and drain pipes. I've never tried it, but I think it would work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

With the colony at Alcatraz now up and running, everyone is settling into their roles. Military and martial arts training is broken up to take place on alternating days so that people can be assigned other important duties. The fishermen check the lobster traps and hunt for tuna. The best fighters in the group take on guard duty. Those with an aptitude for gardening tend to the crops. And someone is always manning the radio at the lighthouse. Usually it's Roger Horn, who has difficulty with running and martial arts training due to his old war injuries. With the colony developing a routine, B.A. begins to become more irritable than usual. One morning after breakfast he grabs Hannibal by the arm and pulls him aside. "Hey man!" he says to the colonel, "You said once we were safe at Alcatraz, that we would go and rescue my mother! We're here! We're safe! We have food! We built greenhouses to grow more food! We beefed up the defenses! We're even teaching the civilians how to defend themselves! This place ain't gonna get any safer! I want to rescue my momma _now!_"

" I understand B.A." replies Hannibal, "and you're right. And we will rescue her. I just need to come up with a plan first."

"You want a plan? Here's one! We go back to Lobster Cove! We fix up my van! We drive to Chicago, rescue Momma, drive back to Lobster Cove, then take a boat back here where it's safe!"

"B.A. you know as well as I do that Chicago is a war zone. Even if your van could get through the horde of walkers roaming the streets, we'd never be able to get your mom from her apartment building to the van. And what about her neighbors? They were a fairly tight knit community when we met them. I doubt she'll want to leave them behind."

"What are you sayin', man? We ain't gonna go?"

"I'm not saying that at all," replies Hannibal, "I'm just saying we have to be smart about it. The way I figure it, we have two choices. One, we wait until winter. . ."

"_What?_"

"Just hear me out. We wait until winter, when the walkers are all frozen solid and buried up to their waists in snow. Then we drive through with a snow plow and some vans and pick everyone up. No muss, no fuss."

"I ain't waitin' til winter Hannibal!"

"Then our other option is to find a vehicle that is as secure as a sherman tank and has the comfort and seating capacity of a Greyhound bus."

Just then Marcus Taylor comes over to the two men. "Did I hear you say you want to go on a rescue mission to Chicago?" he asks.

"We're goin' to rescue my momma!" snarls B.A.

"I hear that, brother," says Taylor, "If my grandma was still alive, I'd go to Detroit to save her."

"We need vehicles," says B.A. "Big ones, that'll hold a lot of people. And a way to secure them against attack."

"What about the San Francisco ship yard?" suggests Taylor. "We went past there on our way here. There were a bunch of trucks there. I guess they were gonna be loaded with cargo from the freighters before the city was quarantined, then got stuck there. The place should be secure. No trucks or freighters were allowed to leave the city once we were locked in quarantine."

"What do you say B.A.?" asks Hannibal.

"It's worth a look," says the big man. Then he turns to Taylor and says "Thanks man."

"Any time, brother." Taylor replies, and he holds out his fist, which B.A. taps with his own.

"Okay Sergeant, go get the rest of the team. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"I'll round up some of the guys," says Taylor, "Team Viking's got your back, brother. Always."

Within minutes all four members of The A-Team are gathered at the docks. Joining them are all of the members of Team Viking, all three Duke cousins, Enos, John Peter McAllister and his pupil Max, as well as Johnathan and Jennifer Hart. Hannibal walks up to the billionaire. "You don't have to come along," says the colonel, "We could be walking into just about anything."

"You don't have to worry about us Colonel," says Johnathan, "We can take care of ourselves." To emphasize his point he chambers a round in his pump action shotgun. "Besides," continues the billionaire, "if we're taking my yacht, then I'm your pilot. Nobody drives that boat but me."

"Fair enough," concedes Hannibal.

"Remember people!" says McAllister, "Conserve your ammunition! If you run into walkers, use your close combat weapons first if at all possible! Knives, machetes, axes! Gunfire will only attract more of them to you, which could cause you to be overwhelmed!"

"Only use your firearms if you're in need of back up!" says Colonel Brewster. "That'll be everyone's signal to come running to help!"

"I want teams of two!" says Hannibal, "B.A.! You and Murdock head straight to the main gate! Bo and Luke Duke will go with you for backup! You need to check to see whether or not the gate is locked! If it's locked, cut the lock off and replace it with one of our own! If it's not, close it and lock it! Either way, get on the radio and let us know!"

"You got it Colonel!" replies Murdock.

"Face!" continues Hannibal, "You and I are going to the office! Hopefully we can find a master list of everything being stored here! That should help us prioritize which shipping containers we empty first!"

"Right Hannibal!" replies Face.

"Percell!" says Captain Goldman.

"Sir!" replies Danny Percell.

"You're to stay on the boat with Mr and Mrs Hart! Find a high vantage point and keep a look out for ghouls! If you spot any, let us know! And be ready to back us up with sniper fire!"

"Yes sir!"

"Here you go kid," says Hannibal as he hands Percell a high powered hunting rifle with a scope attached to it and a box of shells, "The only person who could possibly miss with this gun is the one who's rich enough to afford to buy it."

Percell reads the price tag on the weapon, which is still dangling from the trigger guard. It reads "$3500". This causes Percell to snort in amusement. Then Sergeant Anderson addresses the men. "All right boys and girls! Y'all have your assignments! Now let's get cracking! Lock and load people!"

Everyone who has volunteered to help in clearing the ship yard readies their weapons and boards the Harts' yacht. The trip to the shipyard is short and uneventful. They dock the yacht in the harbor. Bo and Luke Duke disembark with the A-Team while the others stay on the boat. As planned, Bo and Luke accompany B.A. and Murdock as they head straight for the mail gate while Hannibal and Face-Man head for the office. Danny Percell climbs to the highest vantage point on the yacht and watches them through the scope of his rifle, while at the same time keeps a look out for the undead. Hannibal and Face soon disappear from view as there are shipping containers between the dock and the office. Soon after, B.A., Murdock, and the Dukes disappear as well, as the main gate is not within sight of the dock. As the two Dukes and the two mercenaries approach the gate, they see that it was left wide open. B.A. quickly closes the gate, secures the latch, and locks it with a padlock. Then he gets on his walkie-talkie. "Hannibal!" he says, "This is B.A.!"

"What is it Sergeant?" replies Hannibal.

"We've locked the main gate," says the big man, "But it was wide open when we got here. There may be survivors hiding here already. Or, more likely, walkers."

"Understood," replies the colonel, "You four check the perimeter. Make sure there aren't any other places that would allow people to just walk right in."

"Roger that," says B.A. and he puts his radio away. "Alright!" he says to his companions, "Murdock! You take Bo and head in that direction. Me and Luke will go the opposite direction! We have to check this entire fence for breaches!"

"Why are you splitting us up, big guy?" asks Murdock.

"Two reasons!" says the sergeant, "One, the Dukes have bows and arrows, which are good for quietly killing walkers at a distance but not so good for signaling for help!"

"And the other reason?"

"So I don't have to listen to your crazy jibber-jabber!"

"Fair enough," replies the captain. Then he turns to the blonde haired Duke, "Come on Luke."

"I'm Bo," replies the young man.

"And I'm crazy," says Murdock, "But let's not give this angry mud sucker a reason to knock my block off."

The younger Duke chuckles at the pilot's attitude and follows the lunatic with bow and arrow at the ready. B.A. watches them leave, then turns to the older Duke. "Come on," he growls and heads in the opposite direction. The dark haired Duke follows the large black man, not sure whether he or his cousin got the better end of this deal.

Meanwhile, Hannibal and Face are just outside the shipyard's office. They try the door and find it locked. What's more, the rattling of the doorknob has attracted the attention of the building's occupants, as they can hear walkers moaning and banging against the door trying to get at them. Hannibal gets on his radio. "Alright everyone! Fan out in groups of two, just as we planned! It looks like this place might be full of ghouls, so be careful! And good luck!"

With that, the colonel puts away his radio and draws his machete. Face takes out his lock picks and goes to work on the office door. Normally they would just kick the door down during a scavenging mission. But seeing as they planned on converting this shipyard into another sanctuary for survivors, they figured it was a good idea to keep the place as intact as possible. In moments the lieutenant unlocks the office door. He puts away his lock picks and draws a handgun, to which he attaches a silencer to the barrel. He looks over at Hannibal, who's looking at his second in command with a disapproving look.

"What?" says Face with a shrug of his shoulders, "I just don't want to get walker brains splattered all over my suit."

Hannibal just shakes his head in disbelief. He then opens the door to the office building and buries his machete into the first ghoul he sees, which was standing right at the door trying to claw it's way through to the meal outside. He and Face then enter the building and start putting down the walkers within. They were outnumbered six to one, but the two veteran commandos had faced worse odds against organized, living opponents. These undead monsters were eliminated in short order.

As Hannibal and Face are clearing the office building of ghouls, McAllister, Max, and the members of Team Viking spread out through the shipyard and hunt down the dead that are roaming about the shipping containers. This proves to be no easy task, as the shipyard is a virtual labyrinth with scores of places that walkers could be hiding. Also there are many dead ends, where team members could be trapped and overwhelmed should the ghouls attack them en masse. Luckily the dead that they encounter are spread out throughout the shipyard and aren't all congregating in one area, making them easier to kill a few at a time. It takes most of the afternoon, but eventually the area is cleared and nobody had to fire a single shot. Hannibal gives Percell the signal that it's all clear, and Danny and the Harts leave the yacht and join the others.

"So now what?" asks Johnathan Hart.

"Now we start emptying these shipping containers," replies Hannibal, "I have the list of everything that was being stored here. There is a lot of canned and dried foods that were either being shipped in or shipped out. Enough food to feed our community for a long, long time. Once the shipping containers are emptied we'll place them end to end just inside the fence, reinforcing the perimeter with a steel wall. We'll stack them three high to make climbing over the wall nearly impossible. The rest we'll convert into living quarters for new arrivals."

"Colonel," says Luke Duke, "While I think it's a good idea to build a sister community to the one at Alcatraz, I don't see how this one can be made very self sufficient. It's all concrete and steel. They won't be able to grow anything. Even with us turning the parade grounds into farmland on the island, we won't be able to grow enough crops to feed two groups. Especially if both communities grow to maximum capacity."

"Colonel, if I may," interjects Johnathan Hart, "I had donated a great deal of time and money to urban beautification projects, including inner city community gardens. They had turned many abandoned cars and old bathtubs into flower beds. We can probably do something similar with some of these shipping containers."

"Interesting suggestion," says Hannibal, "What do you propose?"

"Well," replies Johnathan, "We can start by welding the doors to some of these containers shut. Then we cut them horizontally, lengthwise, like layers of a cake. Then we can fill them up with soil and plant vegetables in them. Each container ought to give us at least three or four vegetable gardens."

"That is an excellent suggestion," agrees Hannibal.

"I would suggest we use a few of those shipping containers to store compost," adds Jennifer Hart, "Compost makes an excellent natural, organic fertilizer which will help to ensure a healthy crop every season."

"My wife is quite the gardener," says Johnathan, "You should have seen her greenhouse back home before all this happened."

"Hey man!" says B.A. "We're supposed to be gettin' some wheels so we can rescue my momma! Remember?"

"How could I forget?" replies Hannibal, "Don't worry B.A. I've got it covered. Follow me." Hannibal leads B.A. to a small fleet of flatbed trucks and forklifts. "Well?" he says, "What do you think?"

B.A. actually cracks a smile. "I like it," he says.

"We just need to secure the yard and empty some of these containers so that they can be cannibalized and made into armor plating. But just because we'll be on our way to Chicago to rescue your mom, doesn't mean that the others have to sit idly around waiting for us to get back. They can get started on turning this place into a self sustaining, livable space while we prepare to rescue your mom. Then by the time we get back they should be finished and we can have our choice of places to live."

Just then Murdock comes running up to the two of them with Lieutenant John McKay in tow. "Colonel!" pants Murdock excitedly, "The Lieutenant and I have an idea!"

"What is it Captain?" asks Hannibal.

"San Francisco Bay must have a harbor patrol or a coast guard station somewhere," he replies, "That means there must be a helicopter at one of them."

"We ain't flyin' to Chicago, sucka!" says B.A. "I ain't lettin' my momma in anything with a crazy fool like you at the controls!"

"I wouldn't dream of it big guy," says Murdock, "I happen to like my teeth where they are. But I can use a chopper to lure some of the walkers out of your way, keep them from stopping the truck dead in its tracks."

"That's a pretty good idea Murdock," says Hannibal, "What do you say B.A.?"

"A decoy huh?" says the big man, "Alright. But you ain't takin' my momma up in that thing!"

"Perish the thought," says Murdock.

"Good thinking Captain," says Hannibal as he pats Murdock appreciatively on the shoulder, "You and Lieutenant McKay here go find Mr and Mrs Hart. They'll take you to the harbor patrol and coast guard in their yacht. And have them radio the others over on Alcatraz. We're going to need every able bodied person we've got to get this all set up in time."

The two pilots salute the colonel and then head off to do as their told. Hannibal and B.A. return to the others to find that they've already begun unloading some of the cargo from the shipping containers. The first container they were unloading was filled with crates of dried white rice. The next container was full of canned baked beans. The next was full of chocolate. As planned, as soon as each shipping container was emptied, it was lifted with a forklift and taken to the fence, where it was set down to form a wall around the perimeter. And as more fishing boats arrived with more people looking to help, the work began to go much faster. Shipping containers are being emptied in minutes, and their cargo is being loaded onto the boats.

Once there is a solid steel wall surrounding the shipyard, B.A. and a handful of others begin turning one of the flatbed trucks into an armored transport. They measure the truck to determine the size and shape of the steel plating that they'll need, and then draw the patterns onto the sides of an empty shipping container, which they then cut out. They then bolt and weld the pieces onto the truck, giving it an extra layer of steel to fend off bullets and clawing ghouls. Steel plates are welded in place over the windows, with slots cut into them to allow the driver to see out. And the hydraulic lift is removed from one of the forklifts and mounted onto the front of the truck. The forks are removed, and are replaced with a cow catcher made out of steel plates cut from a shipping container. The plates are even curved in such a way that the cow catcher could be used as a snow plow, in case they have to drive through snowy weather.

As the majority of the group is working on either converting the flatbed truck into an armored transport, unloading cargo from the metal shipping containers, or building the wall around the shipyard, Colt Seavers and Jody Banks are on guard duty at the main gate. The sound of running engines and construction has attracted the attention of roaming ghouls, and they're beginning to gather outside the newly erected wall. What's more, they notice an abandoned city bus parked just up the street from the shipyard. It's a diesel powered bus, not an electric trolley, which means it can be driven without electricity. Immediately, Colt runs over to where The A-Team is building their armored vehicle and tells them what's happening.

"How many walkers are there?" asks Hannibal.

"Maybe fifty so far," replies the stunt man, "But more are coming every minute. They know that there's something alive in here."

"Hey man!" says B.A. "We need that bus!"

"Is the truck ready B.A.?" asks the colonel.

"You know it, man!"

"Well then," says Hannibal with a smile, "I'd say now is as good a time as any to take her for a test run. B.A., you and Face take the truck to the main gate. As soon as the gate opens, drive straight for that abandoned bus. The rest of us will keep the walkers off your backs as best we can. When you get to the bus, hotwire it and bring it back here. We'll outfit her with some armor plating and bring her to Chicago to help fetch your mom."

"Right Hannibal!" says the big man.

Word of the gathering horde of walkers outside the main gate spreads quickly through the shipyard, as does hannibal's plan to recover an abandoned bus for their planned rescue mission. Bows and crossbows are passed out to the men and women working to prepare the shipyard. Their part of the plan is simple: Try to kill as many ghouls as they possibly can so that Face and B.A. don't get overwhelmed while they're trying to recover the abandoned bus. McAllister and Max climb up onto the shipping container wall to the right of the main gate along with Percell, the Baker twins, Ruiz, and Sergeant Anderson. Bo and Luke Duke climb up onto the shipping containers on the other side of the main gate with Colonel Brewster, Captain Goldman, Taylor, and Johnson. Hannibal, Charlie's Angels, Colt Seavers, Jody Banks, and a handful of civilians who have shown some aptitude with the bow and arrow or crossbow all stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the main gate, with Face and B.A. in the truck right behind them. The ghouls press up against the chain link steel gate, trying to get at the living flesh standing only feet away inside. Hannibal's group take aim with their bows and crossbows.

"Ready!" says the colonel, "Aim! FIRE!"

At his command, all of the people on the ground fire their arrows and crossbow bolts at the ghouls. Most of them hit their targets, piercing the brains of the undead and putting them to rest. As the dead fall, Jody runs to the gate with the keys and unlocks it. She quickly opens the gate, and as soon as she's clear Hannibal and the others fire another volley of arrows at the walkers outside. Without even waiting to see if their arrows struck home, Hannibal and the others scatter to the sides, clearing the way for the truck.

The second that the way is clear, B.A. puts the truck in gear and steps on the accelerator. The truck goes barreling out of the shipyard, smashing it's way through the dead and making a bee line for the abandoned bus. As the truck thunders away from the gate, the men on the wall shoot at the remaining walkers, keeping them from storming the main gate while Jody closes it and locks it back up. Jody chews on her bottom lip nervously as she watches the truck race towards the bus. From on top of the wall, Danny Percell takes up his rifle and watches Face and B.A.'s progress through the scope.

The truck crushes all of the walkers that are in its path. The dead practically explode as they're hit by the cow catcher on the front. The truck skids to a halt right in front of the bus. Face takes a steel crowbar and opens the passenger door of the truck. A walker is right there, trying to bite him. Face quickly cracks it in the skull with the crowbar, and then kicks it down to the ground. Face jumps out of the truck and smashes the walker in the skull a couple more times with the crowbar. Another ghoul attempts to take a bite out of the veteran soldier, but Peck drives the point of the crowbar into the thing's brain. Once that ghoul has been dispatched, he slams the passenger door of the truck shut in order to keep any more of them from getting inside and attacking B.A. Templeton runs over to the doors of the bus, smashing the brains in of another walker on his way. He jams the point of the crowbar into the edge of the bus doors and pries them open. Unfortunately the bus is not as abandoned as they had believed. The bus driver is a ghoul, and lunges at Templeton Peck. Face-Man is so surprised by the attack that he loses his balance and falls onto his back as the undead bus driver lands on top of him. Fortunately Face manages to get the crowbar into the walker's mouth, like the bit from a horse's harness, and keep it from biting him. But he sees over it's shoulder that there are more walkers about to exit the bus.

"B.A.!" shouts Face, "A little help?!"

B.A. grabs his AR-15 and jumps out of the truck. A walker tries to attack him as his feet hit the pavement, but the big man smashes it's skull with the butt of his rifle. Then just as he's turning to help Face, a shot rings out and the side of the ghoul's head explodes. B.A. looks back towards the shipyard and sees Danny Percell waving at him. The big man quickly gives a gesture of appreciation and then turns to help his friend.

Face-Man is still down on the ground, but now he's managed to draw his side arm, a .9mm baretta. The two members of The A-Team gun down the walkers as they exit the bus. Once it appears that there are no more walkers on board, B.A. helps his friend to his feet and the two of them board the vehicle. They immediately check the seats for any undead that they may have missed. There were a few who were far too torn up to be any threat, but the two mercenaries put them out of their misery anyway. They clear the bus of bodies and then Face gets behind the wheel and starts it up. The engine roars to life, and B.A. gives Face a good natured pat on the shoulder. Then the big man exits the bus and climbs back into the cab of the armored flatbed truck. Then B.A. leads the way as they drive the two vehicles back to the shipyard. As most of the undead that had congregated at the main gate were now destroyed they didn't need to come up with any elaborate plan to get back inside. Jody just unlocked the gate, and opened it up so that they could drive on in. Just as soon as both vehicles have cleared the fence, Jody closes and locks it up again.

As Face and B.A. step out of the vehicles, Jody runs up and kisses Face flush on the mouth. "Well," says Peck, "There's a fine hello."

Then Jody slaps him across the face. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" she says, and she storms off. Face and B.A. turn and look at each other and shrug. Then Hannibal comes over and pats Face on the back.

"Good work kid," the colonel tells him.

"Unfortunately all of that gunfire likely drew the attention of every walker within earshot of this place," says McAllister as he comes over to join them.

"Couldn't be helped, Johnny," replies Hannibal, "We're just going to have to shore up the defenses here ASAP."

"We'll keep building up the wall," agrees McAllister, "Three containers high, as you suggested. Maybe we should use some of them as guard posts. Cut doors and windows into them. Perhaps stack sandbags along the walls on the inside."

"You're the ninja, Old Buddy," says Hannibal, "Do whatever you think would keep _you _out."

"_Nothing _would be able to keep _me _out," replies The Master with a chuckle, "But I'll be sure to make it tough enough to slow me down."

"I bet you will."

The group immediately goes to work on the various tasks. Most of them are unloading the shipping containers, dividing the contents into several categories. The first category is The Essentials: food, seeds for crops, medical supplies, etc. The second category is Useful: electric generators, sporting goods, clothes, bedding, furniture, etc. Third is Sundries: electronics, books, games, etc. The last category is Garbage: rotted produce mostly, as well as anything else that doesn't even have the slightest use in aiding one's survival or allowing for retaining some semblance of the life that once was.

The A-Team and several members of Team Viking are cutting up another of the shipping containers and using the steel plates to add armor plating to the bus that they had just acquired. Meanwhile, Amy Allen, Mrs Howser, Wanda, and Janine are inside the bus with buckets of water and sponges trying their best to clean up the remains of the dead and get rid of their stink. B. another forklift and mounts the hydraulic lift onto the front of the bus, and then builds a cow catcher onto that much like the one on the flatbed truck. By sundown the bus is now completely armor plated, with small slits on every window to allow the passengers to safely look outside. The wall too is also just being completed, with emptied shipping containers being stacked three high. There's even a shipping container set across the top of the main gate, creating an almost tunnel kind of effect. Some of the shipping containers are already being converted into living spaces, with some of the found furniture and bedding being used to make them somewhat comfortable. Just as the finishing touches are being put on the bus, a helicopter comes flying towards the shipyard from out of the distance. As it gets closer, the people from the colony see that it's an older model of copter, only capable of carrying two people. It reminds Hannibal of the time he got shot in Korea and was evaced to the 4077 M*A*S*H unit, where he met Hotlips for the first time. Back then there were stretchers mounted on the sides of the medical choppers. This helicopter is of a similar design, but with bright orange pontoons on the chopper's skids so that it can land on the water. Likely it was used for spotting people in need of rescue more than actually rescuing people. The helicopter flies up to the shipyard and lands. The engine is shut off and the rotors begin to slow. McKay and Murdock hop out and run over to Hannibal Smith.

"What do you think Colonel?" asks the captain, "Beauty ain't she?"

"Nice Murdock," agrees Hannibal with a smile, "Nice."

"You ain't taken my Momma up in that thing sucka!" says B.A.

"Relax B.A." says Hannibal, "It's strictly for scouting and diversionary uses."

B.A. growls and returns to oversee the completion of the wall and put any necessary finishing touches onto the vehicles. The A-Team and Team Viking spend the night in the shipyard, along with about half of the fishermen from Alcatraz. The next morning, after a hardy breakfast, Face and B.A. get into the flatbed truck, while Hannibal drives the bus. Joining Hannibal are Taylor and Johnson, the Baker brothers, Percell, Ruiz and Sergeant Anderson. Captain Goldman and Colonel Brewster elect to stay behind and help improve the defenses of both camps. Murdock figures out the most direct route to get out of the city and onto the highway towards Chicago. He gets into the helicopter and takes off, flying as low and as slowly as he can. The others give him a strong head start in order to give the walkers a chance to follow him, and then they head out along the planned route. The plan works like a charm. Like rats to the Pied Piper, the walkers follow Murdock's helicopter leaving very few to block the vehicles path. And those are quickly smashed upon the cow catchers. As soon as Murdock figures that he had drawn enough walkers from the streets, he alters course and leads them towards Golden Gate Park. He flies over Chinatown and sees even more walkers coming out of alleys and abandoned buildings to follow the loud, slow moving helicopter. As Murdock is flying over the trees in the park, he sees two men in the middle of the park pushing shopping carts which appear to be filled with food.

"Oh crap," groans Murdock.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

With the horde of walkers following close behind, Murdock quickly swings into action. He heads straight towards the two strangers at the chopper's top speed, stopping and hovering right in front of them, and then gently lands the bird. The captain grabs his Ruger Mini-14GB and hops out of the chopper. The two men are covered head to toe in gore. One of them, a much older man, is wearing simple clothes with sandals and has a bow and quiver of arrows slung across his back. The younger of the two is wearing a SFPD uniform with a gunbelt around his waist, a handgun on one hip and a nightstick on the other. The younger man pulls a tactical shotgun out of his shopping cart and aims it at Murdock. The pilot stops in his tracks, lowering his gun with one hand while raising the other in a gesture of surrender. "Woah!" he says, "I'm here to help!"

"You wanna help?" says the younger man, "Then try getting out of here with that thing! You're gonna bring every damned _taotie*_ in San Francisco down on our on our heads!"

"Too late for that!" says Murdock, "There's already a whole herd of them coming this way!"

"We must get these supplies back to our sanctuary," says the older man calmly, "People are depending on us."

"Where is your sanctuary?" asks Murdock.

"A Buddhist temple in Chinatown," says the older man, "We have a vegetable garden there, but more mouths to feed than what we can provide for."

"Sorry to tell you this, but the herd is coming right through Chinatown. You'll never make it."

"Our camouflage might not get us back to the temple Pop," the younger man says to the older one.

"Please don't call me Pop," says the older man.

"I think I can get your supplies to your temple," says Murdock, "But you'll have to come with me!"

"Who are you?" asks the younger man.

"Captain H.M. Murdock, U.S. Army Air Corps! And you are?"

"I am Kwai Chang Caine," says the older man, "I am Shaolin. This is my son, Peter, a police officer."

"Well Mr Caine," says Murdock, "Come with me if you want to live!"

The three of them push the shopping carts over to the chopper. "How are we gonna load all of this onto _that?_" asks Peter.

"Don't worry!" replies Murdock, "I have a plan!"

The army pilot guides Peter into the passenger seat, and then places the shopping cart onto the pontoon next to him so that he can hold it in place. He then places the other shopping cart on the other pontoon and hops into the pilot seat, while Caine steps onto the pontoon and holds onto the helicopter with one hand and the shopping cart with the other. Once they're all set, Murdock takes off. And just in time too, as the horde of walkers is now only a few yards away. The engine in the small helicopter protests under the strain of the added weight, but it lifts it's burden up out of reach of the horde of undead which is shambling towards them. Murdock immediately heads towards Chinatown, following Peter Caine's instructions on how to get to the Buddhist temple. As they're on their way, Hannibal gets on the radio and contacts the eccentric pilot. "Big Bird to Baby Bird! Big Bird to Baby Bird! Come in Baby Bird!"

"Baby Bird here," replies Murdock, "Everything okay Colonel?"

"What's your sit-rep Murdock?"

"On my way to the rendezvous Hannibal," says the captain, "I'm just helping a couple of new friends take their groceries home and I'll be right there."

"Groceries?" pipes in B.A. "Cut the crazy talk fool!"

"It's not crazy talk this time, you big angry mud sucker," says Murdock, "I've picked up a couple of hitch hikers. A cop and his dad. They say they have a way to camouflage themselves from the taotie."

"The what? Talk sense sucka!"

"That's what they've been calling walkers. It's essentially the Chinese word for ghouls."

"Murdock," interjects Hannibal, "Are you being serious right now?"

"As serious as a ghoul bite Colonel."

"Then bring them along. If what you're saying is true, they should prove very useful on this rescue mission."

Peter Caine, who had been listening to the conversation through his headset, turns to Murdock. "Why did they think you were making up meeting us?" he asks.

"Because I'm insane," says Murdock very matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"I'm insane," Murdock says again, "Have been since my last mission in 'Nam. Don't worry, I'm not dangerous. At least, no more than I was before the war. I'm just prone to hallucinations and the occasional delusion."

"Great," says Peter, "I'm going to die in a fiery crash because I'm flying with a pilot who sees giant bats flying at us."

"Don't be ridiculous," says Murdock with a crazy grin, "It's daytime. The giant bats won't come out until night time."

Peter shakes his head in disbelief, as he honestly can't tell whether or not this admittedly crazy pilot is being serious with him or just joking. In no time at all the small helicopter is now hovering over the garden of the Buddhist temple. The fruit trees growing in the garden make landing impossible, but Murdock can see a small gathering of people in the garden. There are a few Asian men with shaved heads wearing the robes of Buddhist monks. With them is a little old man, also Asian, with long stringy hair, as well as three Caucasians. These three are dressed in civilian attire. One is a woman in her late thirties with red hair, while one is a heavy set man with graying dark hair. The last one is a tall thin man with dark hair and wearing dark glasses. All three are armed with handguns strapped to their hips and are carrying police issue tactical shotguns. Kwai Chang Caine and his son Peter each give their shopping carts a little shove, sending them falling down to the ground below and scattering the small crowd that had gathered there. With their load considerably lighter, Murdock takes off, bringing the young police officer and his Shoulin priest father with him to meet the rest of the team.

Murdock goes on a roundabout path to the rendezvous point in order to keep the walkers from flocking towards the team. As he approaches the parked vehicles, he sees his fellow soldiers have gathered outside the bus and are anxiously awaiting his arrival. Murdock has a feeling that his friends' anticipation has more to do with his new companions than with their concern over his well being. The mad pilot carefully guides the chopper to the back of the flatbed truck, where he expertly lands the bird and turns off the engine. The three men climb down from the back of the truck and are confronted by Hannibal Smith and the rest of The A-Team, as well as Sergeant Anderson and the members of Team Viking.

"Well Captain," says Hannibal, "Report!"

"Colonel," replies Murdock, "I'd like to introduce you to Kwai Chang Caine, and his son Officer Peter Caine. Gentlemen, this is my commanding officer Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith."

"Wait a minute!" exclaims Peter, "Hannibal Smith? Then you're Templeton Peck!" he says as he points at Face, "And you're B.A. Barracus! You guys are The A-Team! I've seen your wanted posters up at the precinct!"

"Yeah, that's us," agrees Hannibal.

"The . . . A-Team?" inquires Kwai Chang Caine.

"They were a combat unit in Vietnam," explains Peter, "Sent on virtually impossible missions, yet always seemed to come out victorious. They were accused of treason and theft when they robbed The Bank Of Hanoi. They claimed to have been under orders, but the office of their C.O. was bombed in an enemy attack and any evidence of their alleged innocence was destroyed. So they broke out of prison and have been fugitives ever since."

"That's a pretty good summary, kid," says Hannibal.

"It's an interesting case," replies Peter.

"So how have you been surviving the apocalypse?"

"I've been staying with Pop here at a Buddhist temple," says Peter. The older Caine groans.

"Please don't call me _Pop,_" he says.

"They have high stone walls all around the property, as well as a vegetable garden and fruit trees. We're fairly self sufficient there, but the fruits and vegetables grown in the garden can only go so far, so Pop and I go out and scavenge for whatever we can find."

"And you're able to camouflage yourselves against the walkers? How?"

"By covering ourselves in their blood. And by moving slowly without making any unnecessary movements or sounds. As long as you smell, move, and sound like them, they leave you alone."

"How many of you are there at this temple?"

"Besides me and Pop? Ten. There's Captain Simms. She's not from my precinct, but she's a good cop. Then there's Detective Frank Strenlich. He's a good man. Ex-marine, Vietnam vet, tough as nails. Then there's Kermit . . ."

"You know Kermit The Frog?!" exclaims Murdock, "Oh we gotta get them to join our group! Please Colonel? Pretty, pretty please? With chocolate syrup and whipped cream and a cherry on top?"

"Not Kermit The Frog," says Peter before Murdock could continue any further, "Detective Kermit Griffin. And no, he's not half lion and half eagle either. But he is a damn good cop, and a good friend. Then there's The Ancient, the head of the temple, and the other monks who live there."

"So aside from a dozen more mouths to feed, why should we bring you into the fold?" Hannibal asks them.

"For one thing," replies Peter, "my fellow police officers are well armed and are excellent marksman. Also, Shaolin priests are masters of kung fu. In addition to helping you grow your own food, they can teach your people martial arts. And finally, they happen to have a small arsenal of traditional kung fu weapons."

"Such as?"

"Dao broadswords. Jian longswords. Bows and arrows. Nunchuks. Staves. Fu tao hook swords. Three piece rods. Qiang spears. Guandao polearms. Meteor hammers. Need I go on?"

"And you will share these with us?"

"Share them and teach you to use them," says Kwai Chang Caine.

"Sounds like a good deal to me, Colonel," says Murdock.

"I hate to admit it," says B.A. "but Murdock's got a point."

"That's saying a lot coming from him, Hannibal," adds Face.

"Alright," agrees Hannibal, "welcome aboard."

The two newcomers climb aboard the bus and greet their new companions. Taylor, always one to speak his mind, covers his nose as the father and son approach him. "Man!" he exclaims, "You two dudes smell like a bag of unwashed assholes."

"So sorry," apologizes the elder Caine, "It's the _taotie _blood. It's what allows us to walk amongst the dead unnoticed."

Peter takes a backpack off of his back and pulls out a couple of milk jugs full of water and a couple of plastic bags full of clothes, and a couple of empty plastic garbage bags. He and his father strip out of their blood soaked clothes and stuff them into the garbage bags, use the water to wash the blood from their skin, and then dress in their clean clothes. They also sit at the very back of the bus, putting a respectful distance between themselves and their new companions so as not to offend them with their stench.

Meanwhile Hannibal gets on the radio. "Big Bird to Bird's Nest!" he says, "Big Bird to Bird's Nest! Come in Bird's Nest!"

"Bird's Nest here," says McAllister on the other end, "You make it out of the city okay Hannibal?"

"We sure did Johnny," replies Hannibal, "And we also picked up a couple of strays."

"Really? Who?"

"A Shoulin priest named Caine and his son, who's a cop. They say that they've been staying at a Buddhist temple in Chinatown, and that they have friends there. I was thinking we should invite them to join us."

"Shoulin are masters of kung fu. They would be a valuable addition to our group."

"They claim to have food and weapons, as well as seeds for growing more food."

"That's excellent," says McAllister, "We've been setting up our fruit and vegetable gardens. Having experienced gardeners would be very helpful."

"But there's a catch," says Hannibal.

"What is it?" asks the old ninja master.

"In diverting the walkers from our path, Murdock inadvertently led them right to the temple's front door. You're going to have to make your way through a whole herd of the dead in order to get to the temple."

"Lovely," says McAllister.

"The good news," says Hannibal, "is that we have a new weapon to use against the dead. You can camouflage yourself against them by covering yourself with their blood. It disguises your scent, and as long as you don't bring any undue attention to yourself they'll think you're one of them."

"Of course!" exclaims the ninja master, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"I'm sure you would have eventually," says Hannibal, "In any case, while we're away why don't you offer the people there an invitation to join us?"

"At Alcatraz or at the shipyard?"

"Whichever they would prefer."

"Ten-four," says McAllister, "Over and out."

That night, four figures in black ninja uniforms stalk through the streets of San Francisco. Their clothes glisten in the moonlight as they're coated in blood. One of them has a ninjato sword strapped to his back, and is wearing a butterfly medallion around his neck. One of them has a pair of sai tucked in his belt. The third ninja has a pair of nunchuks tucked into his belt. And the last ninja is carrying a bo staff. As silent as death they slip through the shadows. The dead are milling about aimlessly as they ignore the four gore covered ninja. They get to the gates of a Buddhist temple in Chinatown without incident. The ninja wearing the medallion slips a coil of knotted rope with a small but sturdy grappling hook attached to one end. He gets his fellow ninja's attention with a tap on their shoulders. He then holds up three fingers, points to his eye, and then makes a circling gesture in the air with his hand. The other three nod their heads in understanding and face outward, their weapons ready, as their master throws the hook over the stone wall. It catches on the other side of the wall and pulls taught. One by one the ninja scale the wall and come downs silently on the other side. Just as they're about to head into the temple, out steps an old man with a bow and arrow, who is accompanied by a woman and two men, all of whom are armed with shotguns. Joining them are six Shoulin priests, all armed with traditional kung fu weapons. One is armed with a pair of Jian longswords. One is armed with a pair of Dao broadswords. One is armed with a pair of Fu Tao hook swords. One is armed with a Qiang spear. One is armed with a set of Meteor hammers. The last one is armed with a three piece staff. The six priests whirl their weapons about their bodies, demonstrating their considerable skill. The lead ninja steps forward. He takes his sword off of his back, holds it out before him, and then drops it. He gives his fellow ninja a nod and they too drop their weapons. The four of them then unmask, revealing themselves to be John Peter McAllister, Max Keller, and Colonel Brewster's kids, Carl Jr and his sister Kim. They all hold their hands up in surrender.

"We come in peace," says McAllister.

"You're very well armed for peaceful visitors," says the woman.

"As are you," replies McAllister, "For Buddhists that is."

"We are Shoulin," says the old man.

"And we are _not _Buddhists," says the woman.

"We bring you a message from Peter and Caine."

"You've seen Kwai Chang Caine?" asks the old man.

"Not personally, no," admits McAllister, "but I know where he is. He and his son Peter have joined some friends of ours on a rescue mission to Chicago. They should be back in about a week."

"What friends?" asks the woman.

"The A-Team," replies McAllister, "along with some fellow soldiers. They're going to rescue the mother of one of their members."

"The A-Team?" says the woman, "I've heard of them. They're a bunch of criminals."

"So is a man who is caught stealing a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family," replies The Master, "Does that make him a bad person?"

"Stealing ten million dollars from The Bank Of Hanoi is a far cry from stealing a loaf of bread."

"True. But in times of war, soldiers are ordered to do all sorts of things by their superiors. Things that would make them criminals in regular society under normal circumstances. And in any case, the government which has branded them criminals is no more. So can they truly still be called criminals?"

"I suppose not," she replies, "My name's Captain Karen Simms of the San Francisco Police Department. With me are Detectives Kermit Griffin and Frank Strenlich. The gentleman to my right with the bow and arrow is the head of this temple. They call him _The Ancient._"

"My name is John Peter McAllister," replies The Master, "With me are my students, Max Keller, Carl Brewster Junior, and his sister Kim."

"That is a very interesting pendant you're wearing," says The Ancient politely as he lowers his bow.

"The emblem of my house," replies McAllister.

"I knew a man who wore such an emblem once, many years ago," says The Ancient, "Master Tanaka from Tokyo."

"Master Tanaka was my sensei," says McAllister.

"You must have made quite an impression on him for him to accept you as a student."

"He was a good friend."

"Then you and your students are welcome here," says The Ancient, "Allow me to introduce my fellow Shoulin. This is Master Li, master of Praying Mantis Technique." The priest with the Jian longswords bows respectfully, to which McAllister and his three students respond in kind. "This is Master Chan, master of the White Crane Technique." The priest with the Dao broadswords bows to McAllister and his students, who bow back. "Master Wing, master of the Dragon Claw Technique." The priest with the Fu Tao hook swords bows to them, and McAllister and his students bow back. "This is Master Lo, master of the Cobra Technique." The priest with the Meteor hammers bows, and McAllister and his students bow back. "This is Master Chow, master of the Eagle Claw Technique." The priest with the spear bows, and McAllister and his students bow back. "This is Master Fung, master of the Panther Technique." The priest with the three piece staff bows to McAllister and his students, who bow back in kind.

"We are honored to meet you," says McAllister.

"Please," says The Ancient, "Join us for dinner. We don't have much, but we are happy to share what we can."

"We actually came here to invite you to return with us to our community," says McAllister, "We've built two camps which are very secure. One is at the San Francisco shipyard. We built a wall out of steel shipping containers, and are currently looking to convert some of the remaining shipping containers into vegetable gardens. The other is the old prison on Alcatraz Island. We actually have started a vegetable garden there. There's also fruit trees, green houses, beds, high stone walls, and steel gates. We have a small fleet of fishing vessels, including a tuna boat and a Japanese whaler. Some of the people in our community are ex-soldiers or ex-police officers. And we are well armed with both firearms and close quarter weapons."

"That is a very intriguing invitation," says The Ancient, "Please, let us discuss it further over dinner."

McAllister bows to his host. "As you wish," he says.

They enter the Buddhist temple and change out of their soiled ninja uniforms. Later they all sit around the dining table. They are each served a plate of rice with canned mixed vegetables and diced Spam. Max looks at the meal with clear disappointment.

"I apologize for the poor quality of the meal," says The Ancient, "Unfortunately our meager garden does not grow enough food to keep a group this large self sufficient. Until more vegetables can grow, we must make do with canned food."

"It's quite alright," says McAllister, "We've just become a little spoiled by the fresh fish we've been enjoying lately. But we are not above eating canned goods as well. In fact, we've recently discovered a large shipment of preserves stored at the shipyard. If you and your group join us, you'll never go hungry again."

"If I may," interjects Captain Simms, "We probably should join them. Not only are we consuming our food faster than we can replenish it, but since their friend flew over the temple in his helicopter I don't think that this temple is safe anymore."

"What do you mean by not safe?" asks McAllister, "You mean from the dead outside?"

"Not the dead," replies Simms, "From the living."

"What?"

"Specifically from the Triads, the local Chinese mafia."

"How do they figure into this?" asks Max.

"The head of the local Triads lives in a mansion in the wealthiest part of the residential district. His place is a virtual fortress. A wrought iron fence surrounding his entire property, steel doors to his house, bullet proof glass in the windows, and more armed guards than the damn President. When things got really bad and the military fire bombed the whole damn city, he and his lackeys managed to get through it relatively unscathed. They then managed to round up all of the surviving low-lives that were left in the city and get them to agree to join them. They now control most of what's left of the city. They've cleared out all of the hospitals of everything of value that was left behind."

"How did they manage that?" asks Carl Jr, "Dad said that the hospitals were ground zero for the government losing control. The infected were being round up and kept at hospitals for observation, in order to try and figure out a cure. But they somehow got loose and started killing everyone. The soldiers that were posted there were taken by surprise and outnumbered. Any of them who weren't killed fled. Now the hospitals are crawling with the dead."

"That is all true," says Kermit, "But what you don't know is that the Triads managed to clear out all of the dead that were left inside the hospitals. One by one they cleared the buildings of the dead, and then cleared them of everything else. Food. Medicine. Military grade weapons and ammunition. And the more they got, the more people wanted to join them in order to share in the wealth."

"The Triads have left us alone here at the temple because they did not know that we were here," says The Ancient, "But since your friend has flown directly over the temple with his helicopter, and even dropped food into our yard, I'm afraid that, as you Americans say, the jig is up."

"So does that mean you'll be joining us?" asks McAllister.

"I don't see how we have much of a choice," says Simms.

"We would be honored to accept your invitation," says The Ancient with a bow.

"And we are honored to have you," replies McAllister as he bows back.

They then finish their meal and set about preparing to leave. There is a large selection of martial arts weapons at the temple. Swords, spears, axes, nunchuks, at least a dozen of each. They divide the weapons up, wrapping the swords in blankets and bundling them up so that they can be easily carried. The smaller items, like nunchuks and knives, are packed up in bags. They pack up whatever seeds and food that they have in bags as well, and distribute everything between the fourteen survivors.

Once they're ready to leave, they unlock the gates and allow a few ghouls into the temple. The gates are slammed shut and locked while McAllister and his students slay the ghouls. The bodies are gutted and the lot of them cover themselves with the blood and guts of the walkers to disguise their scent. The gates are once again unlocked and opened wide, and this time the seven Shoulin, the three cops, and the four ninja all slip out amongst the dead as the dead come pouring into the temple in search of food.

**Guest Starring**

**(From Kung Fu: The Legend Continues)**

David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine

Chris Potter as Peter Caine

William Dunlop as Det. Frank Strenlich

Kim Chan as "The Ancient" Lo Si

Scott Wentworth as Det. Kermit Griffin

Kate Trotter as Cpt. Karen Simms

**Author's Notes**

_Taotie _are mythical monsters of ancient Chinese folk lore which eat every living thing they find. If there are no living creatures available they end up eating themselves.

And I know that _Kung Fu: The Legend Continues _is actually set in the fictional city of Sloanville, but I decided to take a little creative license with the story and set it in the real life San Francisco Chinatown in order for it to fit with the rest of the story. My apologies to any _Kung Fu: The Legend Continues _fans/purists out there who might be upset by this. But hey, it _is _my story after all.


End file.
